Lucky Star: After Story
by Mr. FanficGuy
Summary: My 3rd Lucky Star fanfic. In this story you'll see happens to the gang after high school. Konata/Kagami, Tsukasa/Miyuki and Yutaka/Minami. Chapter 31 to FINALLY be uploaded at the beginning of August after a two year hiatus. PLEASE REVIEW AND THANKS FOR 25,000 HITS.
1. The Ring and The Proposal

**Note: **This will be my third and most likely final Lucky Star fanfic. It will examine what will happen to the Lucky Star characters after their graduation from Ryoyou High School.

**Rating: **Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some intense moments, thematic sexual content, and alcohol use.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucky Star: After Story<strong>

It had been nearly two whole years since Friday April 4, 2008, the day the Lucky Star gang had graduated from Ryoyou High School. That day was still fresh in the minds of our four young heroines. It would also be the last day that they would be together as a team. Konata and Kagami had both been accepted to **Kyoto University**, while Tsukasa and Miyuki were both accepted into the **University of Tokyo**. Even though both couples got to stay together the group at the moment was no more. However, one decision would put a chain reaction into effect that would bring the four of them closer together than they had ever been.

**Friday February 12, 2010**

On Friday afternoon, after getting out of her morning classes and before heading to her afternoon classes at the KyoAni art school, Konata walked into the Kyoto Jewelry Store. She was intent on purchasing something huge. "Good afternoon, Ms. Izumi", the jeweler at the counter greeted her. "Good afternoon, Ms. Takao", Konata told her. "Oh, you remembered.", Ms. Takao stated. "Just like you remembered me, so you're running this store now?", Konata replied. "Yes, we are. Can I help you with anything today?", Ms. Takao asked. "Yes, actually. I'm looking for a ring", Konata explained to her, "A very beautiful ring". "Ah, good afternoon, Ms. Izumi", the co-owner of the shop, Mr. Muramoto greeted as he exited the back room. "Good afternoon, Mr. Muramoto", Konata said to him, then turning back to Ms. Takao she continued, "So anyway, I want a really nice ring".

"Who may I ask, is it for", Ms. Takao wondered. "It's actually an engagement ring. It'll be a surprise for my Kagami", Konata explained to her, "I'm going to ask her if she'll marry me". "Oh really?", Ms. Takao asked, "That's a huge step, though. Are you sure you're ready?" "Well, we've been dating for more than four years now and we've been living together for the last two years", Konata explained to her, "And we both love each other very much. The ring I'd like to buy will speak my undying love towards her". "Beautiful words, indeed", Mr. Muramoto told her as he went to his special stocks in the back room, "Let's see what we can do for you, Ms. Izumi".

"Just so you guys know, I have a budget of up to 500,000 yen ($5,542.79 USD) to spend on a ring", Konata explained to them. "I'm sure we'll find one for you well within that budget", Ms. Takao assured her. About 15 minutes later, Mr. Muramoto came out of the back room with a little box. "Well, Ms. Izumi, I think I've found something that will show Ms. Hiiragi how much you love her", Mr. Muramoto bragged. It was a two tone gold ring encrusted with little half-carat ruby diamonds, with a 2.5 karat crystal diamond in the middle of it.

"Wow, now that is a beautiful looking ring", Konata exclaimed as she marveled at it, "I think I'll take it. How much is it?". "The manufacturer's suggested retail price for this ring is 575,000 yen ($6,374.21 USD)", Mr. Muramoto explained to her. "Oh, I see", Konata stated sadly, knowing that she did not enough, "Well, that's way out of my budget range. But thank you for helping anyways". "I'm sorry we couldn't help, Ms. Izumi", Mr. Muramoto told her. Konata then sadly turned towards the door, her head hung down. Seeing this, Ms. Takao and Mr. Muramoto felt their own hearts tinge with sadness for disappointing a customer.

"Hold on a second, Ms. Izumi", Ms. Takao called out to her. Konata turned her head and asked, "Yes, what is it?". "We just can't let you be disappointed like that", Ms. Takao explained to her. "Do you have another ring I can possibly buy?", Konata wondered. "No, actually, we can let you have this ring for 450,000 yen ($4,988.51 USD)", Mr. Muramoto said. "Really?", Konata asked, feeling her heart rise up again, "But what about what you said about the actual price?". "Forget about it", Mr. Muramoto stated. "We just can't let your plans go up in smoke", Ms. Takao explained to her, "And besides we always sell our jewelry below the MSRP". "Thank you two so much!", Konata gushed, "You have no idea how greatful I am. Oh god, I'm sure Kagami's gonna love this". "It's our pleasure, Ms. Izumi", Mr. Muramoto told her. "Here's the ring. Now just head over there, and someone will ring you up", Ms. Takao explained to her handing her the ring.

As Konata walked to a nearby register, to her surprise she saw her two of her former cosplay cafe co-workers, Ayaka and Nanami behind the counter. "Hi, guys. How's it going?", Konata told them. "Hey there, Konata-chan. Going pretty damn great here.", Ayaka greeted. "Greetings, Konata-san. Things are going very well.", Nanami added. "Are you guys working here now?", Konata asked. "Well, kind of. We're still new at this", Ayaka told her. "We actually just started working here a few weeks ago", Nanami explained to her, "I believe it was Monday January 18th we started".

"Well, I have a ring I'd like to purchase", Konata explained to them. "It's an engagement ring for Kagami. I'm going to ask for her hand in marriage", she explained showing them the ring. "Wow! That sounds awesome!", Ayaka exclaimed as she rang Konata up. "The best of luck to you", Nanami told her, as she put the box inside a bag. Konata paid them the 450,000 yen in the form of a check and said, "Thank you very much", as she exited the building. As she walked down the road, she thought "I just hope Kagami will accept my proposal".

* * *

><p><strong>Sunday February 14, 2010 (Valentine's Day)<strong>

"Good morning, Kagami", Konata whispered to her beloved next to her in their bed, "Happy Valentine's Day!". Kagami opened her eyes and whispered, "Thank you, Konata. And Happy Valentine's Day to you too". They got out of bed and gave each other a big box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers. Then Konata covered Kagami's eyes with her own hands and led her into the kitchen. She uncovered her girlfriend's eyes and exclaimed, "Ta-da! I made breakfast for us today". "Wow, everything looks so good. Thank you!", Kagami stated. "If you think that was a surprise, wait until later on tonight", Konata explained to her, "We have a whole day of romance ahead of us".

After they ate, they got dressed up for a day of romance. Konata put on a blue knee length dress, a white sweater, silver stockings and black high heeled pumps. Kagami put on a red knee length dress, a pink sweater, gray nylons and white high heeled pumps. "Well Kagamin are you ready?", Konata asked her. "I sure am, Konata", Kagami explained to her. As they walked out of their apartment, they went over the schedule. "First off, we're going to see a movie", Konata explained, "Then we're going to visit the **Toei Kyoto Studio Park** and finally we're going out to dinner". "That sounds like a plan to me", Kagami told her, "It should be quite a day".

Later on, Konata and Kagami exited the movie theater having just saw **The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya** film. "I tell you that was a great movie!", Konata exclaimed. "Yeah, even though I'm more of a **Full Metal Panic** fan, but it was still a good movie", Kagami agreed. Just then, the two girls ran into Tsukasa and Miyuki, who had themselves gone out on a date. "Yoo-hoo! Sis! Kona-chan!", Tsukasa called out. "Hey there, guys!", Konata waved to them. "Greetings, Konata-san and Kagami-san", Miyuki greeted. "Hello there", Kagami replied, "So what's going on with you two?". "We just got out of **Avatar**", Tsukasa replied, "Wasn't it a beautiful movie, Yuki-chan?". "Yes, it was, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki agreed, "The visuals are those that you must see to believe".

The four girls decided to combine their dates together to make it like a double date. Then by some really strange coincidence, after they left the movie studio park they wound up running into Yutaka and Minami who had gone out on a date too. "Hey, over here! Hi guys!", Yutaka called out. "Hello there", Minami greeted them. "Hi there!", Konata called out to them. "Are you guys out on a date too?", Kagami asked. "Yeah, we sure are!", Yutaka exclaimed. "It _is _Valentine's Day, after all", Minami added. "I have an idea!", Tsukasa chimed in, "Why don't you guys come with us to dinner". "Yes, Konata-san promised us it would be a night we wouldn't forget", Miyuki explained. "What a good idea!", Yutaka exclaimed. "Sure, why not. Sounds like fun", Minami agreed. So with that, they decided to combine once more to make it a triple date.

Later on at the **Kyoto Garden Ryokan Yachiyo **restaurant, the girls took their seats at a private table. Not long after dinner, the girls were talking about what they had done today. "Hey Kagamin?", Konata asked. "Yes, Konata?", Kagami answered. "We've been together for like more than four years now is that right?", Konata wondered. "Yes, about that much", Kagami replied, "And it's been a great four years". "Yeah, it has", Konata agreed, "But Kagami, have you ever wanted to do something more with our relationship?". "What do you mean, Konata", Kagami wondered, geniunely confused. Konata decided that now was her chance to propose.

Konata got down on one knee and showed Kagami the engagement ring that she had bought for her. Kagami put her hands to her mouth and felt tears filling her eyes. "Kagami, will you marry me?", Konata asked. To that, Kagami whispered "Oh my god! Is this really happening?", with tears pouring down her face. "Kagami, are you all right?", Konata asked, clearly concerned. A few moments later, Kagami threw her arms around her lover and exclaimed, "Oh Konata! Of course, I'll marry you!". "You mean it, Kagami?", Konata asked excitedly. "Yes, I do!", Kagami asserted happily. Konata felt the tears pour down her own face as she wrapped her own arms around Kagami and they kissed each other.

"Did I just see what I thought I saw?", Tsukasa wondered. "I believe so. I just saw Konata-san propose to Kagami-san, and Kagami-san accepted", Miyuki told her. "Wow! What an evening! A triple date and a marriage proposal!", Yutaka exclaimed. "I guess anything can happen on Valentine's Day", Minami stated. "Now that is one of the most romantic things I've ever seen", Tsukasa chimed in. "Like Konata-san said earlier, we'll never forget this night", Miyuki agreed.

Meanwhile, Konata and Kagami were still hugging and kissing each other and both were crying tears of joy. "I love you, Kagami", Konata cried happily. "I love you too, Konata", Kagami sobbed joyfully. At this point, the whole restaurant was standing up and applauding what they had just saw.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **November 14, 2011**

1 United States Dollar = 90.2073 Japanese yen (February 2010 statistics)

**Kyoto University **- Located in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on Friday May 1, 1869 and was chartered as one of the imperial universities on Thursday June 18, 1897. It was recently ranked by QS World University Rankings as the 32nd best university in the world as well as ranking as the second top university in Japan.

**University of Tokyo **- Located in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1877 and was chartered as one of the imperial universities in 1897. It was recently ranked by QS World University Rankings as the 25th best university in the world, as well as ranking as the number one university in all of Japan.

Yes, according to their website, Kyoto Animation actually does have an art school which teaches several courses.

**Toei Kyoto Studio Park **- pretty much exactly as its says on the tin. It's a movie studio park located in Ukyo-Ku, Kyoto.

**The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya **- Kyoto Animation's first feature length animated movie. It was released to Japanese theaters on Saturday February 6, 2010. It made at least 692 million yen (about $7.5 million USD) in Japan despite never being released to more than 29 theaters during its run.

**Full Metal Panic **- There were two FMP series that came from Kyoto Animation. Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu aired from August 25, 2003 to November 18, 2003 and Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid aired from July 13, 2005 to October 19, 2005. Full Metal Panic is also Kagami's favorite series.

**Avatar **- the 2009 mega-blockbuster from 20th Century Fox and directed by James Cameron. It opened worldwide on December 18, 2009. It wound up overthrowing Cameron's other mega-blockbuster **Titanic **to become the highest grossing movie of all time. It made $760.5 million in North America alone and $2.02 billion overseas (including $186.75 million in Japan, its biggest international market) for an amazing total gross of $2,782,275,172 worldwide.

**Kyoto Garden Ryokan Yachiyo **- a Japanese restaurant/inn located in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto.

I had originally envisioned this story as the third and final story of a Konata/Kagami story arc. The first two stories in the arc were "The Day Everything Changed", which started their romantic relationship, and "Holiday Vacation", which further extended their relationship.


	2. The Wedding

**June 2010**

After close to four months of planning, the day of Konata and Kagami's wedding had finally arrived. It had taken quite a bit of string pulling to make this work. You see in Japan, even though same-sex sexual contact is perfectly legal, same-sex couples are not recognized and the country very rarely (if at all) allows same-sex marriages domestically. Not to mention, they had to deal with protests from some citizens in both the Kyoto Prefecture (where the girls lived currently) and the Saitama Prefecture (where the girls grew up) who were deeply against same-sex marriage. In fact, some of their new college friends turned against them as a result. And the worst part was the fact that even their own fathers were against them marrying at first.

Both Tadao and Sojiro initially refused to allow the girls to marry each other, threatening to disown each from their respective families if they proceeded with the wedding. Worse yet, the two men were playing the blame game, saying that the other person was to blame for starting this mess. They were frequenly fighting with each other and often getting into fistfights. During one of these fights back in April at the Washinomiya Shrine, they wound up hitting both Miki and Yukari in the face, as they were trying to break up the fight. Hachiro, who was already in a bad mood, had seen the whole encounter, and finally having had enough of Tadao's and Sojiro's frequent fighting, he flipped his lid (something that is EXTREMELY RARE for him) at the two bickering fathers. Here is a flashback of that night.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback to Saturday April 3, 2010<strong>

"This is all your fault, Hiiragi. Your daughter turned my girl into a lesbian!", Sojiro shouted. "My fault? Excuse me, Izumi, but it was _your_ daughter turned _my_ daughter into a lesbian", Tadao growled. "You want a piece of me, priest man?", Sojiro taunted. "Bring it on, lolicon!", Tadao challenged. With that, the two were at it again. Miki and Yukari got up out of their seats and tried to calm the two irate men down, but it did no good. "You two stop this right now!", Miki warned, "Your fighting's not doing any good". "Look at what it's done to your girls", Yukari pleaded, "Stop it please!". What happened next was what sent Hachiro into a rage. It was either Tadao or Sojiro that lost their grip on the other man, and regardless their arms wound up smacking both Miki and Yukari in the face. Hachiro could not believe what he just saw, and now he had reached his boiling point.

"How dare you two hit a woman! Or worse two! Especially when they were trying to stop you from fighting!", Hachiro thought to himself as he raced to the scene. He then grabbed both Tadao and Sojiro by their shirt collars and smacked their heads together. Surprisingly, they were still unaware as to why Hachiro was so pissed off. "What's the deal, Hachiro?", Sojiro asked him. "Yeah, why are you so mad?", Tadao added. "I've had it up to here with you two fighting day in and day out!", Hachiro told them, "And do you two realize that you just hit the two women who were trying to stop you from fighting?". They looked in their directions and saw that Miki had her hands over her nose and that Yukari had her hands covering her whole face and she was on her knees. "He's the one who lost his grip!", Sojiro insisted. "Me? You're the one who lost your grip!", Tadao growled. "Yeah, well you started this whole thing!", Sojiro yelled. "Oh don't pull that with me! You started it!", Tadao shouted. "SHUT UP! I DON'T FUCKING CARE WHO STARTED THIS MESS!", Hachiro roared. The force of his shout caused Tadao and Sojiro to recoil slightly.

"But believe it or not, that's not the only reason why I'm so pissed off right now", Hachiro continued, calming down a bit, "Are you two even aware how much of a toll your fighting has taken on your daughters?". The two men next to him gave him confused looks and said, "No". "Well, this afternoon as I was on the bridge, I saw Konata and Kagami leaning over the edge, and both seemed ready to jump off.", Hachiro explained. Hearing this, Miki and Yukari gasped in shock. "You mean, they were going to kill themselves?", Miki asked him. "Yes, unfortunately", Hachiro explained to her, "It's at least a 75 foot fall from the road to the water below". "Did they jump?", Yukari wondered, with obvious worry. "No, they didn't jump. Thank God.", Hachiro assured her, "But they nearly did".

He then turned to Tadao and Sojiro who both had concerned looks on their faces, and continued, "A similar thing happened to two of my old college buddies while I was still at the University of Tokyo. They were in love with each other. But at one point, unable to deal with the oppression, they jumped off the same bridge. I lost two of my best friends that day. Their bodies were recovered three days later". With anger rising in his voice once again he continued, "Now, what do they have in common with Konata and Kagami? Well, their families were fighting with each other, just like you two immature idiots are now! Now both of their families eventually reconciled, but of course by then it was far too little, way too late. And now they're going to spend the rest of their lives wishing they hadn't fought with each other". All four of the adults in the room had shocked looks on their faces.

"You were lucky this time", Hachiro concluded, "But if you two assholes don't stop your fighting and accept their relationship, there's no guarantee that they won't attempt it again, or if they'll survive it. Just remember that". With that, Tadao and Sojiro turned to each other. "Well Sojiro, I guess we let our animosity go to our heads. It's amazing what personal hatred will do to men", Tadao admitted. "Yeah Tadao, it is amazing what it'll do. And we didn't even know how much of a toll it took on our girls", Sojiro agreed. "I don't want either of our families to end up like those families Hachiro was talking about", Tadao replied. "I don't want that to happen either. That was a huge wake up call", Sojiro answered back. With that, they shook hands and apologized to each other.

Seeing this, Hachiro clapped his hands together and answered, "Well, I'm glad that matter is settled. Now you just need to get your children's forgiveness", then turning to the door called out, "Oh girls, come in here a minute". A few seconds later, Konata and Kagami came walking in the room. "Your fathers have something they want to say to you two", Hachiro explained to them. The two fathers apologized profusely to their daughters, calling their actions inexcusable, and told them that if they really wanted to marry each other, they were now 100% behind it. Luckily for them, their daughters would end up forgiving them for their actions.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>Sorry about putting that scene in, but I wanted it to be as realistic as possible in explaining the setbacks that Konata and Kagami had before their wedding. Now hopefully we can get back to the happier side of things with the actual wedding.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashforward to Saturday June 12, 2010<strong>

Anyway getting back to the real event of the story. It was a beautiful June morning at the **Meiji Shrine **where the wedding would take place. The sun was shining and there were only a few clouds in the sky. When the ceremony started at 11:00 am, the temperature was a pleasant 81 degrees. Now I'm not going to go to deep into the actual wedding part because it would take too long. So I'm just going to do the important parts.

Konata and Kagami were walked down the altar by their respective fathers. The former had on a white kimono with baby blue printed flowers on it and the latter had on a similar kimono but with carnation pink printed flowers on it. They had gotten pretty much everyone involved with their wedding ceremony. Inori and Matsuri were the bridesmaids, Tsukasa and Miyuki were the flower girls, and Yutaka and Minami were the ringbearers.

During the ceremony, all the girls were having their own thoughts about what was happening.

Konata: "I can't believe it. My wish is finally coming true and I'm marrying the love of my life".

Kagami: "I still can't believe we've made it this far. Now we can go along and start our own loving family".

Tsukasa: "This is so wonderful. Kagami's getting married and now Kona-chan's going to be my sister".

Miyuki: "Out of all the weddings I've attended, this will go down as the most memorable one".

Yutaka: "This is so exciting! Now our family's going to be a lot bigger".

Minami: "Now I've been to a couple of weddings myself, but I've never seen one quite like this".

Inori: "I wish you the best of luck, Sis. And to you too, Konata-chan".

Matsuri: "You know I always thought that we'd be the first ones to marry. But oh well. It's still a great day".

In the audience, many of the adults were having their own thoughts about it as well.

Tadao: "Well, it took a long time for me to accept it, but I'm very proud right now".

Miki: "I have a feeling that Konata-chan and her family will be a more than welcome addition to ours".

Sojiro: "I'm so proud of my little girl. And now I've gained a few new daughters. Living the dream, baby!".

Hachiro: "Looks like everything is turning out perfectly. I'm glad there hasn't been anymore fights between Mr. Hiiragi and Mr. Izumi".

Yukari: "(giggles) I love going to weddings. They're so much fun".

Eventually, they got to the part with the rings. Konata placed her ring on Kagami's right hand. Likewise, Kagami placed her ring on Konata's left hand. The ring that Konata had was almost just like Kagami's, except instead of little **ruby** diamonds, the ring was encrusted with little **emerald **diamonds.

And finally the moment we've all been waiting for, the vows. The priest doing the ceremony turned to Konata and asked, "Konata, do you take Kagami as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?". "**Hai. Chikaimasu**", Konata replied. The priest then turned to Kagami and asked, "Kagami, do you take Konata as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health to love and to cherish until death do you part?". "**Hai. Chikaimasu**", Kagami answered.

Then the priest turned to the audience and asked, "If anyone has any objections on why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace". After waiting 30 seconds without anyone objecting, he concluded the service by turning to Konata and Kagami and saying, "Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you wife and wife. You two may kiss now". Konata and Kagami didn't waste any time with that, let me tell you. They wrapped their arms around each other and passionately kissed each other on the lips as the entire audience stood up and applauded.

* * *

><p><strong>Later that afternoon<strong>

The wedding reception was held at the **P****ark Hyatt Hotel**, which was only 3.8 kilometers (about 2.4 miles) away from Meiji Shrine and started at about 2:00 pm. The Park Hyatt was more than well equipped for the 90 guests who attended the wedding ceremony. The staff already had the tables set up in the meeting room and a buffet just a few yards away from the tables.

Konata and Kagami were of course the main focus of attention. After all they had just gotten married. At one point, Konata's former cosplay cafe co-workers came by to congratulate them. "Congratulations, you two", Ayaka stated. "I hope you two have a long and happy marriage", Nanami added. "Thank you very much", Konata and Kagami replied in unison. "You guys really deserve to be together forever", Mariko contemplated. "My sentiments exactly", Chiyoko agreed.

Not long after, Yutaka and Minami came along too. "Congratulations to you, Onee-chan", Yutaka beamed as she hugged her cousin. "Aw, thanks Yu-chan", Konata replied. "And congrats to you too, Kagami-chan", Yutaka exclaimed hugging her new cousin. "Thank you very much Yutaka", Kagami answered back. "I just wanted to say congratulations to the both of you", Minami chimed in, "And I hope only the best for you two in the future". "Thank you, Minami", the two newlyweds replied together.

The reception would continue until about 9:30 pm. During dinner, the alcohol was broken out and hilarity ensued thereafter. Some of the guests were doing ridiculous dance moves and sometimes they were doing just hilarious things. For instance, at one point Inori and Matsuri were doing karaoke, but they were not quite all there and they were off key a lot. And in another instance, Mrs. Takara was riding on Mr. Takara's back as he pranced around on all fours like a horse. Understandably, Miyuki was greatly embarrassed by her parents' drunken actions. Tsukasa put her arm on her shoulder and assured her, "Don't worry, Yuki-chan. I've seen people who drink act a lot sillier than that". "Well, thank you, Tsukasa-san, that makes me feel better", Miyuki replied.

After recieving their gifts and right before heading out on their honeymoon, Konata and Kagami threw the bouquet and the garter into the crowd. Konata threw the garter and it was caught not by one of the men in the crowd, but by Yutaka and Minami oddly enough, who had caught it at the same time. "Well, Minami-chan. What luck.", Yutaka stated. "Yeah, really good luck", Minami agreed. Soon after, Kagami threw the bouquet into the crowd and it wound up being caught by Tsukasa and Miyuki who each had one hand on it. "Wow, Yuki-chan, we caught the bouquet!", Tsukasa exclaimed. "The legend goes that whoever catches the bouquet will be the next ones to marry", Miyuki explained. With that, Konata and Kagami waved to the crowd and set out in the limousine that would lead them to their honeymoon. On the back of the vehicle, you could see a sign that read "JUST MARRIED".

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **November 14, 2011**

**Meiji Shrine **- a Shinto shrine located in Shibuya, Tokyo dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shoken. It began construction in 1915, was formally dedicated in 1920, completed in 1921 and its grounds officially finished by 1926.

**Ruby **- the birthstone for July. Kagami's birthday is July 7th.

**Emerald **- the birthstone for May. Konata's birthday is May 28th.

**Hai. Chikaimasu. **- literally means "I do" in Japanese.

**Park Hyatt **- part of the Hyatt International hotel chain. The Tokyo Park Hyatt Hotel is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.


	3. Honeymoon Part 1

**Note: **I know the chapter is a little bit short, especially compared to the first two chapters, as well as the fact that nothing much really happens in this chapter. But I would like you all to know that I tried my best with this chapter regardless. This and the next two or possibly three chapters will focus on Konata and Kagami's honeymoon. Hopefully, none of the other chapters will end up being quite this short.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday June 12, 2010, 9:05 pm<strong>

Having just left the reception at the Park Hyatt, Konata and Kagami were inside the limousine on the way to the **Four Seasons Chinzan-so Tokyo Hotel **which was only about 6.6 kilometers (or 4.1 miles) away from the Park Hyatt. They had asked the driver to go slow so that they would have more time to express their feelings to each other on the momentous event that had occurred earlier that day, and what would go on during their honeymoon.

"I still can't believe everything that's happened in the last few months", Konata exclaimed. "Neither can I, it's amazing how within the space of a few months, we went from dating, which was good enough already, to being happily married", Kagami agreed. "And what makes our experience even more incredible is how our wedding almost never happened at all", Konata added. "Yeah, I know, what with my dad and your dad not wanting us to get married at all at first", Kagami stated.

"And I'm sure you remember that day when we almost jumped off that bridge, because we couldn't take anymore of their fighting", Konata continued. "I'll thank you not to mention that day again. Lucky for us, Mr. Takara came along and talked us out of it", Kagami told her. "Yeah, and even better he knocked some sense into our dads and he got them to stop fighting", Konata explained. "Yeah, and he was the one person who really pulled the strings so that we could get married", Kagami asserted. "Certainly, because same-sex marriage still isn't really legal in Japan", Konata stated. "Exactly the point, luckily for us, they made an exception this one time", Kagami agreed.

At about 9:20 pm, the limousine arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel. After he got out their bags and their wedding gifts and rang for a valet to bring them in, the girls paid the driver a handsome tip of 3,000 yen ($33 USD, or $32.9960 to be exact). "Thank you very much!", the driver called out as he reentered his car and pulled out. "You're welcome!", Konata and Kagami called out to him as he drove away. Two valets then came out pushing one of those huge things you put the suitcases on and said, "Allow us to bring these up to your suite".

"Wait a second. Kagami, what do they mean by suite?", Konata wondered. "Oh I forgot to tell you, Konata. I booked a really nice suite for us. Just wait until you see it", Kagami explained to her. They then paid the valets a tip of 2,500 yen ($27.50 USD or $27.4968 to be exact) each. The valets thanked them and the girls walked inside to check in. "Now be really careful with these things and getting them up", the senior valet explained to his associate. "I know that much, I don't want their money to go to waste", the junior valet answered him back.

Konata and Kagami checked in and got their suite key. "Okay Konata, our suite is on the sixth floor. Just follow me.", Kagami explained to her. "All right Kagami, I'm right behind you", Konata answered. They opened the door to their suite and were immediately blown away by what they saw. "Oh my god! This suite is gorgeous!", Konata sputtered. "I know they said it was a nice suite. But I didn't expect it to be quite _this _nice", Kagami agreed. "This suite is almost as big as our _apartment_", Konata claimed. "Yes, it definitely is a big suite", Kagami explained. They had found that their bags and wedding gifts were already placed neatly on the floor. "And look Kagami, our stuff is already up here", Konata noted. "You're right, Konata. They went above and beyond", Kagami added.

So with that, they walked around the 93 square meter (1,000 square foot) suite noting all of the many amenities that it contained. The living area had a loveseat couch, two armchairs and a coffee table with a marble top. The room also had a 42 inch flatscreen TV, a DVD player, and a hi-fi system (CD, MD and tuner) among other things. Glass french doors separated the bedroom from the living area. "Look at the bedroom, Kagamin", Konata called out. "You have a point, Konata. There's a little desk and a dressing area", Kagami noticed. "Not only that", Konata added, "But we also have a walk-in closet and a 32-inch flatscreen TV". "Okay, I'm sold", Kagami claimed, "This suite is amazing! How could it get any better?"

"Oh my god! Look at our bathroom!", Konata exclaimed. Kagami rushed in there and she was astounded. "Wow! All marble!", Kagami sputtered. "The tub here can fit us both", Konata continued, "And there's a shower right here too". Suddenly, they heard a flushing noise. "Oh, the toilet's one of those newer electrical models", Kagami noticed, "And they even have a little TV in here too". "No way! A TV in a bathroom?", Konata wondered. "Gee, they certainly thought of everything, didn't they?", Kagami noted.

With that, Konata and Kagami decided that the time had come to get out of their cumbersome wedding kimonos and into something more comfortable. They put on their new silk one piece negligees and slipped into their king size bed. While they were in their bed, they were reminiscing on when they had first met in junior high. "You know, Kagami", Konata said, "When I first saw you in the 7th grade, I was immediately lovestruck by your beauty". "Thank you, Konata", Kagami told her, blushing, "And I'll admit when I first met you, there was something I liked about your geeky nature. To me, it was kind of cute in a way".

"Well, shucks, thanks", Konata replied, blushing herself, "It's still really amazing how far we've come in the space of a few years". "I know what you mean", Kagami agreed, "In the space of 8 years or so, we've gone from having met each other for the first time to being a lawfully wedded couple". "Hey Kagami", Konata asked, "What time is it anyway". "Believe it or not, Konata", Kagami explained as she looked at the alarm clock, "It's only 10:30 pm".

"Is it really that early? Well, I'm already bushed", Konata replied. "Me too. It's been a long day", Kagami answered back. "We should probably go to sleep now", Konata explained, "We've got a lot of stuff planned for tomorrow". "I'll set the alarm clock for 7:00 am", Kagami replied as she set the alarm clock, "That way we can get up early and do as much as we can". With that, they turned out the lights, and closed their eyes. "Good night, Kagami", Konata whispered. "Good night, Konata", Kagami replied softly. They fell asleep within 10 minutes, holding each other's hands.

* * *

><p><strong>The next morning<strong>

"GOOD MORNING TOKYO! It's Sunday June 13th 2010, and the time is 7:00 am", the voice on the alarm clock, set on the radio function called out, "Weather for today will be mostly sunny with a high temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit". Kagami pushed down on the stop button, sat up and stretched her arms over her head, clearly feeling well rested. She then brushed her hand lightly through Konata's nearly ankle length blue hair and whispered to her, "Oh Konata, it's time to get up dear". Konata opened her eyes and saw her wife next to her. "Good morning, Kagamin", she said as she sat up and stretched, also feeling well rested. "Well, we have a lot of fun planned for us today", Kagami explained. "You're right we do, so what are we standing around here for? Let's go out and do something!", Konata replied back. With that, they jumped out of the bed and each ran off to get prepared for what would surely be a fun day ahead.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **November 16, 2011**

**Four Seasons Chinzan-so Tokyo Hotel **- part of the Four Seasons International hotel chain. This particular hotel is located in Bunkyo, Tokyo. There are way too many amenities in this hotel to list in this section, including a fitness center, an outdoor _and _an indoor pool, a spa facility and several on site restaurants. Look on the Four Seasons Hotels website to find out more about it. The Premier Garden Suite that they booked usually ran for 150,000 yen ($1,649.81 USD) per night! However they used the one free night deal.

$1 United States Dollar = 90.9196 Japanese yen (June 2010 statistics).


	4. Honeymoon Part 2

**Sunday June 13, 2010, 7:30 am**

Within a half hour of waking up, Konata and Kagami were down on the first floor of the building and ready to go. The former girl had on a pink tanktop, blue shorts and flip flops. The latter girl had on a red tanktop, purple skirt and strap on sandals. "Are you ready to go, Kagami?", Konata asked looking at her wife. "I've been ready, Konata", Kagami told her. "What should we do first?", Konata wondered. "How about we get some food", Kagami suggested. "Good idea", Konata agreed, "I for one am famished". "Me too", Kagami explained, "I'm sure we'll be able to find one good restaurant to eat at for breakfast".

It turns out they didn't have to search for long, as the hotel actually had 3 restaurants to choose from. Konata and Kagami then decided on eating at Il Teatro, the Italian restaurant on the third floor of the hotel, which coincidentally served breakfast as well. They decided to split one order each of the Toasted Rye Bread Sandwich with Cured Ham, Bacon and Fried Eggs, and the Orange and Hazelnut French Toast with Sautéed Apples and Pecan Nuts, with a side of Assorted Fruit, and washed down with fresh squeezed Orange Juice and freshly brewed Four Seasons Breakfast Blend coffee. And yes, all those things listed are actually on the menu on the Four Seasons website. Boy, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

After breakfast the girls decided to check out what else the hotel had to offer. "Hey look, Konata", Kagami called out, "They have everything here". "You're right, Kagami", Konata noticed, "They've got a fitness center, an outdoor pool, an indoor pool, and a spa". "How about we head to the fitness center first then?", Kagami suggested. "That sounds like a plan to me", Konata stated. With that they went back to their suite on the sixth floor to change into something lighter. A few minutes later they came out both wearing a white T-shirt, black shorts and white sneakers. "Hey Kagamin, we almost look like twins", Konata laughed. "Yeah Konata, we almost do", Kagami giggled. "Now on to the second floor", Konata answered. "Yep, here we go", Kagami told her.

Upon reaching the fitness center, the girls were impressed with the top of the line equipment. They tried out everything from the treadmill and stepmaster to the seated bikes and weight machines. They ended up spending about 2 hours working out. "Well, I'm beat", Konata claimed. "So am I", Kagami admitted. "How about we head to the sauna?", Konata suggested. "You know, that sounds like a really good idea", Kagami agreed. The sauna room was rather close by. The girls wrapped themselves in those white towels to cover their you know what's (You know, you see them whenever there's a sauna shown on TV or in a movie) and entered the sauna.

While they were inside the sauna, Konata and Kagami continued to reminisce on their school days. "Remember the time when we all went on that class trip during our senior year at Ryoyou?", Kagami asked. "Hell yeah, I remember that one", Konata stated. "It was kind of silly when we that shrine and tried to lift that huge anchor type thing", Kagami explained. "And I still remember that message that said that you were my wife", Konata told her. "Who knew it would have actually come true not even 3 years after that", Kagami contemplated. "Nobody knew at all, not even us. But I'm really glad that it came true", Konata admitted. After about a half-hour in the sauna, the girls were both starting to fall asleep. "Come on Konata", Kagami told her, "We don't want to fall asleep in here". "You're right Kagami", Konata explained, "If we did, we'd end up like human prunes. Something about that last statement seems so wrong".

They then decided to enter the outdoor pool. The smaller girl wore a sun visor and a two piece orange swimsuit and the taller girl wore round sunglasses and had on the same style swimsuit but in a pink color. So they went into the pool and took a swim. Well, at least Konata did anyway. Instead of going in, Kagami just sat down in one of the chairs. "Hey Kagamin, what gives? Why aren't you in here? The water's fine", Konata wondered. "I'm just about to put on my sunscreen", Kagami answered back. To that, Konata hopped out and said, "Hang on. Let me give you a hand with that". "Oh thank you, Konata. I do need a little bit of help", Kagami told her.

Kagami managed to take care of applying the sunscreen on the upper half of her body. Konata gently applied the sunscreen on to her wife's legs. "Ooh, that feels nice", Kagami sighed as her wife massaged her upper legs with the lotion. "Now this will just take a second", Konata explained as she moved down to the lower legs. She made sure to cover the whole area, even in between the toes. "That tickles a bit", Kagami answered, giggling. "Sorry about that. I guess I went a little overboard", Konata replied. With that, the two girls hopped in the pool together and hand in hand.

"Wow, this water feels nice today", Kagami noted. "See what'd I tell you", Konata replied. After a few minutes of swimming laps, Konata called out, "I have an idea Kagami, see if you can catch me!", as she started swimming really fast. Kagami rolled her eyes and warned her, "Konata, we're not little kids anymore". "Come on Kagami, it'll be fun", Konata insisted. "All right, Konata, if you insist", Kagami sighed in exasperation. Some things just never change do they.

Later on that evening, Konata and Kagami were back in their normal clothes. "I have a surprise for you before we head out to dinner", Konata explained. "Really? Well what is it?", Kagami wondered. As they headed into a taxi, Konata told her, "You'll see". A few minutes later they were at a helipad with a helicopter waiting. "No way! Are you serious?", Kagami exclaimed. "I arranged for us to take a sunset helicopter tour of Tokyo", Konata explained. "Well, this certainly is a surprise", Kagami admitted. As they went up in the helicopter, they went taken by the spectacle. Now sunset was at about 7:00 pm this time of year in Japan. "Wow! Tokyo is so beautiful at sunset.", Kagami said. "It certainly is beautiful", Konata agreed. If you saw it, you'd be amazed too. Anyway, over the rest of the trip, Konata and Kagami held each other's hand as they watched the passing city below.

At about 7:30, Konata and Kagami arrived back at Four Seasons to have dinner, after all they were famished after a long day. They decided to order In-Room Dining. Yes, at Four Seasons Tokyo, you can even have food from the restaurants delivered to your room or suite. So anyway, the girls were back in their suite, when at about 8:00, they heard a knock at the door. They answered it and sure enough, it was the waitress delivering the food. They paid her the bill and thanked her. "What did you order, Konata?", Kagami asked, "I ordered the Grilled Sea Bass with Lemon Butter Sauce, Braised Red Cabbage and Roasted Potatoes". "Well I'll tell you Kagami", Konata replied, "I ordered the Japanese Sirloin with Red Wine Sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Veggies". They sat down at the table near the window giving them a perfect view of the city.

"You know, I could really get used to this", Konata admitted. "Me too. I wish our honeymoon would never end", Kagami agreed. "Well, we still have a whole week of fun and relaxation ahead of us", Konata told her. "Yeah, there's still that. Luckily we hit that big jackpot lottery", Kagami explained. "That 75 million yen ($824,904.61 USD) we won is going to go a long way in paying for our honeymoon", Konata stated. Hey, I had to figure out some way for them to afford this hotel. "We're gonna pack so much fun into this week, that hopefully it will feel much longer", Kagami assured. With that, they leaned towards each other and kissed each other on the lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **November 17, 2011.**

Everything listed on the menus in the restaurants are the same as the ones in real life. I checked the website myself to make sure. And at Four Seasons Tokyo, couples actually can arrange for such things as a sunset helicopter tour of Tokyo, as it says on their website.

Again, the chapter was short. I apologize for that, but I promise I'll try as hard as I can not to let these chapters get any shorter.


	5. Honeymoon Part 3

**Monday June 14, 2010, 11:00 am**

Late on Monday morning, Konata and Kagami were sitting in their suite on the couch. Konata had on a red tanktop, short light brown shorts and strap on sandals. Kagami had on a green tanktop, a blue skirt, gray nylons and white dress shoes. They were looking out the window with rather depressed looks on their faces. Unlike on Sunday where it was nice and sunny, today it was raining. And because of the rain, that meant that they couldn't do their planned walk around town.

Obviously, since they were stuck indoors for the day, they were bored. So they instead tried to think of something they could do indoors. "So Kagami, what do you want to do?", Konata asked. "I don't know, Konata. But we should probably think of something", Kagami replied. "Hey I know, how about we take a trip to the beauty salon", Konata suggested. "That sounds like a really great idea", Kagami agreed.

"Hell, we might as well look good. I've been meaning to take a little off the top anyway for a while now", Konata continued. "I know what you mean, Konata", Kagami agreed, "If your hair grows much longer, it'll be all the way down to the floor". "I know right. It's already almost down to my ankles. I'm like a blue haired Japanese clone of Rapunzel", Konata laughed, prancing around the suite, much to Kagami's confusion. "Be careful. Don't knock any heavy stuff over", Kagami warned her, but she couldn't help but giggle at how cute Konata looked as she danced around.

A few minutes later the girls arrived at the Beauty Tanaka salon on the fourth floor of the hotel. "Good morning, ladies", the beautician at the counter greeted them, "What can we do for you today?". "I really need a haircut", Konata explained, then pulling up some of her hair said, "It's really getting out of hand". "I see", another woman at the counter stated, "Well, it's our job to tackle long hair". The first woman then turned to Kagami and asked, "And what we can do for _you _today?". Kagami answered, "I think I'll get a haircut too cause my hair is almost down to my knees, and by the way, would it too much to ask for some blue highlights?". "Oh heavens no, young lady. _Nothing_ is too much for the experts at Beauty Tanaka to handle", the other beautician replied to her.

"So how would girls like your hair cut", a third beautician asked them. "Well, I think I'd like to trim it so that it doesn't reach past my hips", Konata explained. "And I'd like to trim my hair so it reaches down to the middle of my back", Kagami answered. "All right ladies, now just have a seat in the chairs over there", a fourth beautician explained to them as she directed them to the chairs. You know those chairs you see in barber shops and beauty salon that spin around, anyway back to the story. Apparently, the mess of hair on Konata's head gave the women a little bit of trouble. "Here's the problem. These little scissors just aren't doing the job", one hairdresser complained. "Time to go for the big guns", another hairdresser proclaimed as she pulled out a bigger pair of scissors. That seemed to do the job as they didn't run into any more problems.

* * *

><p><strong>12:15 pm<strong>

"You know, Konata, you look even cuter with shorter hair", Kagami stated. "Aw thanks, Kagami. And you look even more beautiful with your hair shorter too", Konata replied. "Thank you. So what should we do now?", Kagami asked. "How about a swim", Konata answered. "But Konata, it's raining outside", Kagami protested. "Don't worry, Kagami. They have an indoor pool on the second floor, remember?", Konata countered. "Oh yeah, silly me, I forgot about the indoor pool", Kagami sighed, "I'm such a dumbass". "No, you're not a dumbass. You just forgot about the other pool, that's all", Konata reassured her, "Now come on, let's change into our swimsuits". With that, they raced back up to their sixth floor suite.

Soon after they were at the indoor pool. Again, the girls both wore two piece swimsuits, but this time in different colors. Konata's was in blue and Kagami's was in red. They got in the water and to their surprise the water was only about 4 feet deep. "This water isn't very deep", Konata noted, "I'm touching the bottom and my head is still above water." "Maybe this pool is meant for people who are afraid of deep water", Kagami contemplated, "Or maybe this pool is meant for lounging in than swimming in." "Oh well, we might as well make do with what we have", Konata suggested. "You're right, let's try to have fun anyway", Kagami agreed.

They did try to have some amount of fun in the pool. But it wasn't very easy, so eventually they just sat down in the pool and talked. "You know, Kagami. This kind of reminds me of all those summer days back in high school", Konata acknowledged. "How is that, Konata. Do you mean all those time in gym class, when you kept saying that the school really should have put in a swimming pool?", Kagami wondered. "That is exactly what I mean", Konata replied. "Well, we don't have to worry about high school now. We're on our honeymoon", Kagami explained. "Why did it have to rain today?", Konata lamented, "We were going to go window shopping this afternoon". "We need the rain around here", Kagami asserted, "Without it the plants wouldn't get enough water and they'd shrivel up". "Well, hopefully it won't rain tomorrow", Konata noted. "I hope it doesn't rain either", Kagami agreed.

Well, after about an hour in the pool, the girls decided to change back into their normal clothes. "Well, the indoor pool was a little disappointing", Konata quipped. "It's not quite as good as the outdoor pool", Kagami understood. "Well, what should we do now?", Konata remarked. "Since we're already in the spa, how about we get one of those treatments done", Kagami suggested. "Good idea", Konata agreed. "All right then", Kagami verified. "Hey what time is it, anyway?", Konata wondered. "Well, its about 1:30 right now", Kagami told her. And with that, they walked a few yards or so to get back into the YU spa.

The girls got in and decided on the Radiance Facial Treatment and The YU Spa Pedicure. "This should be a relaxing trip", Konata noted. "Yeah, we've never really been to a hotel spa before", Kagami agreed. "Well, this should be an interesting experience for the both of us", Konata told her. "It sure will be interesting", Kagami answered back. Just as it says on the website, the technique uses only the purest damask rose water as well as geranium and evening primrose oils to leave the skin toned, refined, and generally much more radiant. "Ooh, my skin is tingling already", Konata exclaimed. "That's what a facial does", Kagami told her. After the 60 minute treatment was finished, they noticed that they looked even better than they did before they came in.

Then it was time to experience the spa pedicure. The girls placed their feet in a tub of water infused with peppermint. Then after about 10 minutes, the staff got to work on exfoliating their soles with salts and minerals straight from the Dead Sea. After this, their feet and lower legs were massaged with essential oils. This step is meant to increase circulation. By this point, both Konata and Kagami were in a deep state of relaxation and both of them had their eyes closed. "Wow, this feels really good. I actually feel like I'm about to fall asleep", Konata whispered softly. "I feel the exact same way. This is really relaxing", Kagami whispered back. Once that was over the girls had their choice of color for their nails. "I'd like the red nail polish", Konata replied. "And I'd like the orange nail polish", Kagami answered. Once the polish was dry, the process was completed. The two girls paid the staff, thanked them and left back for their suite.

* * *

><p><strong>Content Warning<strong>: Here is where things might get a little bit fetishy for some. I'll admit that hypnosis is a bit of a turn on for me (especially the classic swinging watch induction), and I just felt like including a scene of it in this story.

* * *

><p><strong>7:45 pm<strong>

Later on after they had eaten dinner, the girls, still in their clothes, were sitting in their bedroom watching the TV attached to the wall. Seeing that there was nothing on at the moment, they shut it off. "Hey Kagami, I have an idea on how to pass the time", Konata said as she reached into the bag next to her and took out a gold pocket watch attached to a chain. "Wait a second, Konata. I know it's an antique but how are we going to pass the time with it?", Kagami wondered.

Konata then handed Kagami the watch and explained, "See if you can hypnotize me with it". "What? I couldn't do that to you, Konata!", Kagami sputtered. "Come on Kagami. Haven't you ever wanted to be in a situation where you can control a woman?", Konata insisted. "Well, now that you mention it, that does sound like a thrilling concept", Kagami admitted. "Exactly, so go ahead I'm ready for you. Have your way with me", Konata told her as she sat up on the bed. "Well, if you insist. I guess it couldn't hurt to try it. But I won't go overboard", Kagami replied. "You know, no one's ever tried to hypnotize me before", Konata explained. "Well, let's see if it'll work", Kagami stated.

With that, Kagami held the chain and let the watch attached to it fall so that it dangled in front of Konata's face. Kagami then sent the watch into motion from side to side, and much to her surprise, Konata immediately began to follow the swinging watch with her eyes. "Alright, now just focus on the watch, don't think of anything else", Kagami said softly, "Your eyes are completely focused on it as it swings back and forth, you can't look away, and you won't pay attention to anything except for the sound of my voice". It seemed to be working like a charm, as Konata was still tracking the watch with her eyes.

"Still focusing on the watch, watching it swing back and forth…back and forth. Notice the light reflecting off it, drawing your attention to it even more", Kagami continued, "Let yourself begin to grow calm. Let your breathing slow to a relaxed pace in synch with the watch. Back and forth. In and out". Konata began taking deep slow breaths in synchronization with the watch. Kagami was amazed at how well this was working. "Follow the watch Konata. Study its movements, tick, tock, tick, tock, lulling, relaxing, soothing your mind into sleep, into deep, deep sleep", she continued, "You're finding that as you watch the watch swing, back and forth, back and forth, you are beginning to get sleepy".

At this point, Konata felt her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier and she let out a yawn. "Your body and mind are totally relaxed.", Kagami continued, "And as the relaxation continues you are beginning to grow sleepy. Very very sleepy. You can feel it in your eyes. They are getting heavy and feel like they want to close". By now, Konata was becoming more and more drowsy and she had to fight to keep her eyes open, which were still locked onto the swinging watch. To Kagami it was amazingly sexy watching Konata's beautiful emerald green eyes follow the movement of the watch and watching her eyelids grow heavy and flutter to her words.

"You want to keep following the watch", Kagami continued, "But your eyelids are becoming heavier and heavier with each swing of the watch and you're feeling so very sleepy". Konata, still trying to keep her eyes open, let out another yawn as she continued to follow the watch with her eyes. "Your eyelids are so heavy, Konata, that all you want to do is close them", Kagami continued, "In fact, when I count down from three to zero, they will become so heavy that they will close. Three...so sleepy, so relaxed. Two...letting the hypnosis take hold. One...you can barely hold your eyes open". As Kagami said this, Konata felt her eyelids, which felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, begin to close down. "And zero, now just close your eyes now Konata and drift into a deep sleep", Kagami concluded. Konata's eyes fluttered closed and her head fell onto the pillows.

It was just now that Kagami noticed how sexy Konata looked in her outfit. Her new haircut gave a good view of the nape of her neck. Her red tanktop showed off her arms. And her short brown shorts accentuated her long and shapely legs. Konata may be short, but she had a nice pair of legs. "As of this moment, Konata, you are under my control. Repeat after me: You are under my control", Kagami explained. "I am under your control", Konata mumbled sleepily. "Every touch you feel will have twice the impact as normal", Kagami continued. "Yes. Every touch", Konata whispered.

Kagami could no longer control herself. She moved her hands to Konata's upper legs and started sensually massaging them. Konata under Kagami's control sighed deeply as the gentle caresses relaxed her even deeper. After a few minutes, Kagami moved her head towards Konata's and kissed her several times starting with the neck and moving up to the lips. I think you all can see where this is going, so the rest I'll leave up to you to imagine.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **November 18, 2011**

Yes, the spa at Four Seasons Tokyo, is simply called YU. Although its full name is "YU, THE SPA at Four Seasons Hotel". And they do offer those services and more.


	6. Honeymoon Part 4

**Note: **Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. But hopefully, it shows just as much effort as the other 5 chapters.

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday June 15th 8:30 am<strong>

The next morning while they were preparing to have breakfast in their suite, Konata and Kagami were talking about what had gone down the previous night. The former girl had on an orange T-shirt, green shorts and blue sneakers. The latter girl had on a pink T-shirt, a red necktie, brown skirt and grey dress shoes. "I still can't believe I actually managed to hypnotize you", Kagami exclaimed. "I had a feeling you could do it, Kagami. I'm not as smart as you so it was easy", Konata explained to her. "But Konata, you're _not_ stupid. You just don't apply yourself very often", Kagami told her. "Trust me, I _can_ be stupid at times", Konata reiterated, "But at least I know now that like a lot of people I am susceptible to hypnosis".

"Hey what's the weather supposed to be like for today?", Kagami wondered. "They said it was supposed to be mostly cloudy today, with some rain later on tonight", Konata answered. "How late did they say?", Kagami asked. "I think they said after 6 pm", Konata replied. "Good, if we leave right after breakfast, we'll be able to spend the afternoon at **Tokyo Dome City Attractions**", Kagami noted. "Yeah, but we still have to order breakfast first", Konata reminded her, "If we're going to be walking around the park all day, we need our strength". "I know that much", Kagami scoffed, "I'm no dummy and neither are you".

A little while later, their breakfast was delivered to their room. They had each ordered Two Fried Eggs with Bacon, and split an order of Fresh Fruit (which around this time of year entitles berries, melon, mango, papaya, star and passion fruits, etc.), and Natural Yogurt with Tapioca and Red Beans, washed down with Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice and Coffee. By the time they finished breakfast it was about 9:45 am. As soon as they sent the empty plates back they went outside and hailed a taxi which would take them for the 3.2 kilometer (2 miles), 11 minute ride to **Tokyo Dome City**.

While they were in the taxi, Konata took out her iPod and asked, "Hey Kagami, how about some music". Kagami replied, "Good idea, Konata. As long as you don't play any anime songs". "Don't worry. This one's not an anime song. I promise", Konata assured her. "OK, if you promise", Kagami told her. They each a pair of headphones on and listened in on the song.

"_Ski-Bi dibby dub yo dab dub dub. Yo dab dub dub. _Ski-Bi dibby dub yo dab dub dub. Yo dab dub dub. B-B-B-Be Bop a Bodda Bop. Bop a Bodda Bop. Be Bop a Bodda Bop. Bop a Bodda Bop._"_

"Hmmm. Not bad of a choice", Kagami noted, "I didn't know you liked this type of music". "Well, you said you wanted me to broaden my interests", Konata explained, "I figured I might as well get some music in there". "Well, I'm proud of you for trying", Kagami told her. "Besides, I've liked this song ever since I was a kid", Konata answered back.

**10:00 am**

A few minutes after the taxi dropped them off, Konata and Kagami entered Tokyo Dome City. "This sure is a huge place", Konata noted. "It definitely is a huge complex", Kagami replied. "It'll be quite easy to get lost here", Konata added. "That's why we should stay together", Kagami explained to her. "I like your thinking, Kagami. I don't want us getting separated in the crowd", Konata told her. "You're right, Konata. We need to stay together", Kagami concluded. With that, they grabbed each other's hand, went through the entrance and recieved their tickets for Tokyo Dome City Attractions.

Not long after that, the girls were trying to decide what to do. "How about we ride **Thunder Dolphin **first", Konata suggested. "Well, I kind of wanted to ride **Big O **first", Kagami countered. "Since we can't agree, how about we do something else first", Konata replied. "Maybe that's a good idea, after we do something, then'll we'll be able to decide", Kagami agreed. So they decided to try out a few different rides first.

The first ride they tried out was the Sky Flower. It was like one of those rides you see at a carnival that spins in the air while you're strapped into a seat. Another ride they tried out was the Power Tower, a ride in the form of a water tower, where you pull a rope to the top which is 7.5 meters (about 25 feet) off the ground. "You know, Kagami", Konata noted, "The view is pretty damn good from up here". "I know what you mean, Konata", Kagami added, "It helps that the tower itself is rotating so we can see the whole park".

After they got down, Konata and Kagami once again tried to decide what to do first. "Do you know why I wanted to do the Thunder Dolphin first?", Konata asked, "Well, the reason is, I'm a little scared of ferris wheels". She continued, "It's not the height that's the problem. It's that they stop in the middle and the wind shakes the carriage". "And actually, the reason I wanted to do the Big O first, is because I get freaked out on roller coasters", Kagami replied. "It's not the speed that's the problem, it's the drops and sharp turns as well as suspense of waiting for it to start, and sometimes you wait more than 5 minutes for it to start", she continued. "So the way I see it, we should help you to conquer your fear first", Konata rationalized, "I'll go on it with you if that will help you feel better, Kagami". "Really, well thank you Konata", Kagami sighed in relief, "That makes me feel much better".

With that, the girls stepped on the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster. Konata suggested that they sit in the back row, so that Kagami wouldn't feel as afraid. "Don't worry, Kagami", Konata assured her, holding her hand, "As I'm sure you'll find, roller coasters can be fun". "Are you sure, Konata", Kagami pleaded, "I've only been on three roller coasters in my entire life". "Trust me, I'm right here. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you", Konata asserted. "Thank you. You're right. I shouldn't be scared of it", Kagami told herself. Soon after the ride began, and although a little frightened at the start, she conquered her fear by the end of the ride.

"You see Kagami, it wasn't so bad, was it?", Konata explained to her. "You were right, Konata. It was actually kind of thrilling", Kagami admitted. "Now, uh, could you help me conquer my fear of ferris wheels?", Konata asked, laughing nervously. "Of course I will. I always try to be there for you too", Kagami assured her. With that, the girls walked over to the Big O. As the ride was emptying out, Konata turned to Kagami and said, "This might be funny, but I had a bad experience with a ferris wheel once". To that, Kagami asked, "What was this experience you had?".

"Well, when I was five years old, my dad and I went on a ferris wheel. Right when we reached the top the ride stalled, and a huge gust of wind shook our carriage. I was so scared that we were going to fall out that I wet myself", Konata explained, looking increasingly uncomfortable. "Oh boy, that sounded like a horrible experience for you. But I'll be right next to you this time. I'll help you conquer your fear, just like you helped me conquer mine", Kagami asserted. "Thank you, Kagami", Konata replied throwing her arms around Kagami. "You're welcome, Konata", Kagami explained, putting one arm around Konata and stroking her long blue hair with the other.

Soon after the ride finished emptying, Konata and Kagami got on the carriage. As they got in, Kagami explained, "Now Konata, if you get scared, just squeeze my hand, all right". Konata replied, "All right, Kagami. I'll remember that. But I'll try to be brave for you". So the ride began, but having to take stops to let other passengers board each car. At the very top, a gust of wind hit and shook the carriage a little bit. Konata then squeezed Kagami's hand, not knowing her own strength. Kagami gritted through the pain in her hand and placed her other arm on Konata's shoulder.

Soon everyone was on the ferris wheel and the ride could make 2 or 3 full cycles. The rest of the ride went off without a hitch, and eventually Konata calmed down enough to let up on squeezing Kagami's hand. After they got back on the ground, the girls stepped out. "You were right, Kagami. I felt a lot less scared when you were next to me", Konata explained to her. "My pleasure, Konata. I'm always happy to help you with these things", Kagami told her. "The view from the top _was _nice", Konata admitted. "Yeah, we could see the entire park from up there", Kagami agreed. "But most of all, I'm just glad you were there with me", Konata asserted. "I'm glad I could help you out", Kagami explained. With that, the two young lovers kissed each other briefly on the lips and then they continued on with their day out.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **November 22, 2011**

**Tokyo Dome City** - an entertainment complex located in Bunkyo, Tokyo, only about 2 miles from the Four Seasons Tokyo Hotel, it was known as Big Egg City until January 1, 2000.

**Tokyo Dome City Attractions** - an amusement park that is part of Tokyo Dome City. It opened back in 1958 and was known as Korakuen until April of 2003.

The song that Konata and Kagami were listening to in the taxi is called "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)", by the late Scatman John (1942-1999). He was quite popular in Japan (and to a lesser extent, Europe as well), even more so than he was in the United States. His first album, Scatman Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop, sold over 1.5 million albums in Japan, and a total of 6 million albums worldwide.

**Thunder Dolphin **- At 80 meters (about 262.5 feet) in height it is Tokyo's tallest roller coaster and 6th tallest in the world. Its top speed is 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour and its 1,100 meter (about 3,609 feet) runs through the Big O ferris wheel. It opened on May 1, 2003 and was built at a cost of $37,000,000 USD.

**Big O **- The world's first centerless ferris wheel, and the largest one of its kind in the world at 60 meters (about 197 feet) in diameter. Thunder Dolphin passes through the center of the wheel.


	7. Honeymoon Part 5

**Note**: Again, I'm sorry that it took so long for me to upload this chapter. I got so busy this week doing the steps in preparing to attend a community college starting in January (well, hopefully in January) that it ended up slipping my mind.

**One more note**: Here is where the story starts to pick up the pace once again.

* * *

><p><strong>Wednesday June 16th 11:30 am<strong>

The next day was Wednesday. Konata and Kagami had decided to go to the theater to see a movie. "So Kagamin, what type of movie do you want to see?", Konata asked. "I don't know, Konata. What about you?", Kagami replied. After a few minutes, they finally decided on **Autoreiji**. They walked up to the ticket booth. "Yes, may I help you?", the cashier asked. "Can we have two adult tickets for Autoreiji, please?", Konata answered. "Certainly", the cashier explained as she handed them their tickets, "That will be 2,500 yen ($27.50 USD)". Konata handed the girl the money for the tickets. "Thank you, Autoreiji is in Screen #4", the cashier explained to them.

Before they headed into the room, they stopped at the snack bar. Konata got out her money but Kagami stopped her saying, "I told you, Konata, we had a deal. You bought the tickets now_ I'll_ pay for the snacks". "Okay, Kagami. If you insist", Konata responded. "Could we have 2 large popcorns, 2 big boxes of gummy bears, 2 big boxes of cookie dough bites and 2 large Coca-Colas please?", Kagami asked the cashier. "Sure thing, miss", he told her as his assistant helped him get everything, "That'll be 3,500 yen please ($38.50 USD)". Kagami paid them the bill and she and Konata picked up their food, thanked the clerks and headed to Screen #4.

"Geez Kagami, you think that's enough snacks for the two of us?", Konata remarked. "Oh don't start Konata. I paid for them", Kagami reminded her. "I'm just yanking your chain. What I meant to say was, Thank You", Konata added. "Well, you're welcome, little one", Kagami answered. They sat down near the front, so that Kagami would be hopefully be able to see the screen more clearly without her glasses. "Let's see how sitting here goes", Konata explained. "I hope I won't need my glasses to see the movie", Kagami answered back.

Once the movie eventually started, there were about 40 people in the room. The movie lasted a little under two hours (109 minutes to be exact or 1 hour and 49 minutes). During that time, the girls didn't have any problems with watching the movie. After the movie ended, they were talking about how the movie was. "Well, it was just all right", Konata claimed. "Yeah, that film wasn't really all that good", Kagami agreed. " Maybe it's just that we're not the target demographic for that movie", Konata suggested. "It could be that", Kagami replied. Just then, they heard a familiar voice call out, "Yoo-hoo! Over here!"

Konata and Kagami turned around to see Tsukasa and Miyuki right behind them. "Wow, you guys look great!", Tsukasa exclaimed. "How we went to the hotel spa on Monday", Konata explained. "We also got our hair trimmed at the hotel beauty salon", Kagami added. "Well, it certainly did wonders for the both of you", Miyuki chimed in. "So what movie did you guys just come out of?", Konata asked. "We just got out of **Kokuhaku**", Tsukasa explained. "I've heard that movie was really good", Kagami added. "Yes it is, you two should see it", Miyuki explained, "We love these types of films".

The four girls decided to make it a double date, although clearly by this point, Konata and Kagami weren't just dating anymore. After they left the theater, the girls wound up finding a cake buffet right down the street. "You know this reminds me of all those times we went to cake buffets in high school", Kagami recalled. "It brings me back", Konata agreed, then turning to the 2 other girls asked, "And didn't you two reveal that you guys loved each other in one". "Oh yes, I still remember that day", Tsukasa called out, "Do you, Yuki-chan?". "Yes I certainly do, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki told her, "The 22nd of December back in 2007, as Konata-san and Kagami-san were on stage singing "I've Had the Time of My Life". It was a Saturday night that year".

(This next scene is a callback to Chapter 11 of Holiday Vacation)

Just like the one they went to back in December of 2007, this cake buffet also had a karaoke booth. "So who would like to try their hand at singing up here first?", one of the waitresses asked the patrons. "How about you two go up and sing", Konata suggested. "Yeah, I'd like to hear you two sing too", Kagami agreed. However, Tsukasa and Miyuki were a bit hesistant. "What do you think, Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa asked, "It seems like fun". "It might be a good idea", Miyuki replied back, "But I don't want us to make fools of ourselves". "Nonsense!", Konata exclaimed. "I'm sure you two will do just fine", Kagami assured. With that, our other couple went up to sing.

"So what would you girls like to sing?", the waitress asked. Upon hearing this, Tsukasa and Miyuki thought for a couple of seconds, then they said "**One Sweet Day**" (I couldn't think of anything else). "Ah yes, a classic", the waitress said as she punched the code in to start the music. As Tsukasa and Miyuki were singing, the other 2 girls realized how talented they were. "Wow, they're really good!", Konata exclaimed. "Yeah, they really are good at this", Kagami agreed. They held each other's hand throughout the song and rocked along to the beat.

As soon as the song finished (4:43 is the song's length), the audience stood up and gave Tsukasa and Miyuki some well deserved applause. "Woo-hoo! You guys rule!", Konata shouted. "Great job, guys", Kagami cheered. "Yuki-chan! We did it! I didn't think we would do it.", Tsukasa exclaimed. "That we did, Tsukasa-san. I was surprised how well it came out.", Miyuki agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday June 17th, 11:00 am<strong>

The next day, our married couple decided to go to the beach, since it was such a nice day out. While they were in the taxi that would take them to the beach, Konata and Kagami listened to the forecast playing on their portable radio. "And now for a look at today's weather", the newscaster on the radio announced, "It will be mostly sunny today with high temperatures in the lower 80's". "Did you hear that, Kagamin?", Konata asked, "It's gonna be a perfect day for going to the beach". "It definitely is a nice day, Konata", Kagami replied, "Good thing we put on our swimsuits under our clothes, so we can get in and out quickly".

At around 12:00 pm, they got to the beach. They got into one of the private changing rooms and changed into their swimsuits. "Hey look, it still fits!", Konata claimed. "What still fits?", Kagami wondered before she gasped in shock. "My ninth grade swimsuit still fits!", Konata proclaimed proudly. "Why are you wearing that thing, Konata?", Kagami demanded, clearly embarrassed, "You can't be serious about wearing that outside!". "Don't worry Kagamin. I'm not really going to wear this thing", Konata assured her, "I have another one under this one". "I'm not even going to ask about that one", Kagami answered, at a loss for words.

So Konata and Kagami went on with their activities. "Yo Kagami! Are you getting this?", Konata asked as she rode a 15 foot high tide on her surfboard. Kagami, riding on a rented jet ski, and having brought the video camera they had recieved as one of their wedding gifts, gave the thumbs up as she called out, "Oh yeah Konata! I've got it all right!".

Later on, Kagami decided to try out parasailing. You know, the extreme water sport where you are harnessed to the end of a speedboat and you float in the air while you are attached to a parachute. At least, I think that's what its called. Anyway, time to get back to the story. "Hey Konata! Are you filming this, I hope?", she asked. "You bet I am, Kagamin! This is going to be priceless!", Konata replied as she held the video camera.

By the end of the day, the girls had filled up their camera with memories of this trip to the beach. "You know, Kagami. If we ever have kids, we'll be able to show them what daredevils we were", Konata contemplated. "I know what you mean, Konata. We'll say, "This is how crazy we were back when we were kids", and stuff like that", Kagami giggled. They then gave each other a look of "Do you think we should?", as they got in another taxi that would take them back to the Four Seasons.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **November 28, 2011**

The average movie ticket price in Japan is around 1,250 yen ($13.75 USD in June 2010)

**Autoreiji (Outrage) **- a Japanese yakusa film (films about the Japanese mafia) released on June 12, 2010, the day that Konata and Kagami were married. The Warner Bros. Pictures film opened at #4 with 146,363,610 yen ($1,597,856 USD) from 155 theaters. It spent 6 weeks among the Top 12 movies, and eventually made 708,832,178 yen ($8,190,804 USD).

**Kokuhaku (Confessions) **- a Japanese drama film which was released on June 5, 2010, and was distributed by Toho Pictures Corporation. It opened at #1 with 272,802,345 yen ($2,967,178 USD) from 266 theaters, and spent 4 weeks as the number one movie in Japan. It spent a total of 10 weeks among the Top 12 movies, reaching a total of 3,639,135,506 yen ($42,577,928 USD), and ranking as the 10th highest grossing film of 2010 in Japan.

**One Sweet Day **- a classic single that combined the talents of Mariah Carey and the group Boys II Men. It was released as a single on November 14, 1995, and spent a staggering 16 weeks at #1 in the U.S (from December 2, 1995 to March 16, 1996), and also reached the top ten in many other countries, such as Australia, France and the United Kingdom, but unfortunately only reached #87 on the Japanese Oricon charts.


	8. Honeymoon Part 6

**Note**: This chapter will wrap up the Konata and Kagami honeymoon arc. But don't worry folks, there's still plenty of story left. I still have a lot of work to do with the other two couples (Yutaka and Minami and Tsukasa and Miyuki).

**Another Note: **Starting with this chapter, I will post a short note on what the next chapter will be about and what the setting will be.

**One last note: **I uploaded this chapter kind of as a 19th birthday gift to myself today (December 2, 2011). I hope you guys reading it as much as I did making it.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday June 18th 7:00 am<strong>

As their honeymoon was now starting to wind down, Konata and Kagami decided that it was time for a new game plan. They would now try to fit as much activity as they could into their last 2 days of their vacation as possible. Anyway, getting back to the story.

It was Friday morning and the girls were in the lobby. Konata had on a pink T-shirt, blue shorts and white sneakers. Kagami had on a yellow T-shirt, green skirt and brown dress shoes. "It's supposed to rain later on, so we'll have to get our window shopping in right now", Konata explained. "You're absolutely right. We don't want to get wet, so we'll bring our umbrellas just in case", Kagami added. So with that, they walked out the lobby door and began walking.

On the way, they stopped at an American style diner for breakfast. "Hey Konata, do you think we have enough time to stop in here?", Kagami wondered. "Don't worry, Kagami, it's only 7:30 and its not supposed to rain until after 12", Konata told her. At the same time, the waitress came over and asked, "May I get you two anything?". "Just some coffee for right now, please", Konata replied. "Yeah, we're still deciding", Kagami added. After a few minutes they finally decided on somethng.

The waitress came back and asked them, "Have you ladies decided yet?". "Yeah, we've decided", Konata answered. "Could we have two Stuffed French Toasts with Eggs, Bacon and Hash Browns, please", Kagami asked. "Not a problem, ladies", the waitress said, "It'll be about 15 minutes". To pass the time, the girls brought out a deck of cards and played Go Fish, until their orders arrived. "Here you go. I hope you enjoy it.", the waitress told them.

Where as Konata was gobbling her food down fast and furiously, Kagami took her time making sure to chew before swallowing. "Konata, you really need to slow down! You could choke if you're not careful", Kagami reminded her. "But Kagami, we only have two days of our honeymoon left. We have to get in as much as possible!", Konata reiterated. A few moments later she started choking on a piece of French Toast. "See I told you that would happen!", Kagami shouted worriedly as she rose out of her seat and performed the Heimlich Manuever on Konata. Luckily, that did the trick as the unchewed piece went flying out of her mouth and onto the floor.

Konata caught her breath, turned to Kagami and apologized, "I'm really sorry about that, Kagamin. Thanks for saving my life". Kagami put her arm around her and said, "Just promise me you'll slow down eating, please!". Konata agreed, "You're right, I shouldn't have eaten so fast". Kagami replied, "I was just worried about _you_, Konata. Now let's just get back to our breakfast". The rest of breakfast went off without a hitch. After they finished and paid the bill, they walked to **Yotsuya-sanchome Station **and boarded the 9:00 am train to **Shibuya Station **which would lead them almost right to their destination. After they got off the train, it was only about a two minute walk to their destination.

* * *

><p><strong>9:25 am<strong>

The girls arrived at the **109 **department store at around 9:25 am. "So this is the place", Konata noted. "Yep, it sure is", Kagami added. "It's a pretty damn tall building for a shopping mall", Konata contemplated. "10 floors full of stores in total", Kagami explained, "2 of those floors are actually on the lower levels". They went into the tall shopping mall that loomed about 8 stories over their heads.

Clearly they were both a little overwhelmed when they went in. "Goddamn! I've never seen a mall with all the shops arranged this way!", Konata exclaimed. "It _can_ get a little chaotic at times, so that's why we'll have to stay together in here", Kagami told her. They held each other's hand as they walked around so as not to split apart, just like a real married couple might do. And with that, they began walking around the first floor.

You know how building companies find it more economical to build up instead of out? Well, obviously this mall was a case of that. All the stores on each floor were arranged in a loop, possibly to make access easier for its consumers, both in the story and in the real life mall. Now it's time to get back to the story before I get too far off track.

Anyway, Konata and Kagami were just walking around through the stores. The first place they stopped at was Pool Side, specializing in women's shoes. They looked around for a bit until they found something. "Well Kagami, I found a pair of red strap on high heeled pumps", Konata told her, "Did you find anything?". "You know Konata, I actually did", Kagami replied, "Pretty much the same thing as you but with a peep toe and in purple". They then tried them on. While Kagami was easily able to walk in them, Konata, who very rarely wore high heels, kept tripping and falling out for they were too big. "I think I need a smaller size. It's going to take sometime for me to get used to them", Konata explained. "Don't worry about that. I'll teach you how to stay on the saddle, so to speak", Kagami assured. With that, they paid for the shoes and went on to the next shop.

The next store they stopped at was V.V.P. Visalia on the second floor, which like most of the shops in Shibuya 109, specializes in ladies' outfits. After purchasing several outfits, the girls went up to Doll Kiss on the third floor, which sells socks and miscellaneous goods. Konata took off one of her shoes and tried on a black thigh high stocking which covered most of her leg except for a small bit of skin in between the top of the sock and her shorts. She then stretched her leg out straight and asked, "Well Kagami, how does it look on me". Kagami blushed a bit and admitted, "It actually looks really sexy on you Konata. It accentuates the length of your legs". "Ah the wonders of **Zettai Ryouiki**", Konata told her.

Soon after that they finished up their shopping. By the time they finished, it was about 12:30 pm and their arms were filled with bags. "Well Kagami we made out pretty good today", Konata noted. "Yeah, we got quite a bit of stuff", Kagami agreed. "This was the first time I've ever been here", Konata admitted. "I've been here once or twice, but never with you", Kagami added. "Well, we'd better bring this stuff back to the hotel. It'll be safer there", Konata replied. "Good idea, Konata. No use in having it stolen", Kagami agreed. With that, they boarded the 12:45 train at Shibuya Station that would take them back to the hotel.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday June 19th, 6:00 pm<strong>

On the last day of their honeymoon, Konata and Kagami took one of those romantic dinner cruises inside Tokyo Bay. Yeah, the Four Seasons Tokyo Hotel will actually allow you to arrange that as well, both in this story and in real life. They stepped on the ship, dressed quite nicely. Konata had on a pink short sleeved blouse, a purple dress, white nylon stockings and red high heeled pumps. Kagami had on a orange short sleeved blouse, a black dress, gray nylon stockings, and white high heeled pumps. "Well this must be the place", Konata noted. "It certainly looks like it. Where else would there be a traditional style **Yakatabune boat**?", Kagami replied. "Luckily, the rain stopped early today", Konata answered. "Good thing too. I didn't think we'd be able to go if it were still raining", Kagami echoed.

After they took their seats in the traditional **tatami mat** setting, a waitress popped up and asked them if they wanted anything to drink. The girls decided on some good old fashioned Japanese sake. Don't worry, they were both of legal drinking age (20 years old). "This is nice isn't it?", Konata asked. "Yes, it is. Us on a romantic dinner cruise", Kagami agreed. For the actual meal, the guests were served **sashimi** and **tempura**, along with unlimited alcohol and/or soft drinks. Since they had to head back to Kyoto in the morning, Konata and Kagami decided on a cutoff of two alcoholic beverages.

During the cruise, the boat passed by Japan's Statue of Liberty (yes, Japan has its own version of the Statue of Liberty) and the beautifully illuminated Rainbow Bridge. "Look at the bridge, Kagami", Konata exclaimed, "Isn't it beautiful to look at?". "It certainly is, Konata", Kagami agreed, "It _is_ quite beautiful". They then looked at each other and said, "But still not quite as beautiful as you are". "I'm never going to forget this honeymoon", Konata asserted. "I'll never forget it either", Kagami replied. With that, the two young lovers embraced each other and kissed each other on the lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **December 2, 2011**

**Yotsuya-sanchome Station **- a train station located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, serving the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. It opened on Sunday March 15, 1959.

**Shibuya Station **- a train station located in Shibuya, Tokyo, serving the JR East, Keio, Tokyu, and Tokyo Metro lines. It opened way back on Saturday March 1, 1885, and handles 2.4 million passengers on an average weekday. This makes it the fourth-busiest commuter rail station in Japan.

**109 **- a Japanese department store chain that originated in Shibuya, Tokyo back in April of 1979. It is extremely popular with younger women, and the stores there mostly focus on stylistic and chic items. The 109 chain currently has 7 outlets throughout Japan (3 in the Tokyo Prefecture and 1 each in the Ishikawa, Shizuoka, Kanagawa and Osaka Prefectures). The Shibuya Prefecture location that Konata and Kagami went to is an 8 story building, and has 10 levels of shopping in total (2 of which are _below ground_).

**Zettai Ryouiki **- means "absolute territory" in Japanese. It defines the area of uncovered thigh between the area of socks and skirt (or sometimes shorts) and is classified by the length of the stockings. Grade A Zettai Ryouiki, for example, is a thigh high sock or stocking which leaves just a little bit of skin showing. It is now the most common fetish in Japan. The page for it on TVTropes explains it further.

The dinner cruise that Konata and Kagami went on costs $141.28 USD per person (or 12,845.12 yen in June of 2010). However, since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, it has been suspended until further notice.

In Japan, you can legally drink alcohol starting on your 20th birthday. If you're wondering, Konata was 21 years, 3 weeks and 1 day old and Kagami was 20 years, 11 months and 12 days old on June 19, 2010.

**Yakatabune boat **- a kind of privately owned Japanese boats. The name means "Home Style boat".

**Tatami mat **- a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese style buildings. It is traditionally made of rice straw to form the core.

**Sashimi **- a Japanese delicacy consisting of very fresh raw meat, usually fish, cut into thin pieces. The name translates to "pierced meat" (sashi = pierced or stuck. mi = body or meat)

**Tempura **- a Japanese dish of seafood and vegetables that has been battered and deep fried. It was introduced to the Japanese by the Portuguese in the mid sixteenth century.

In the Next Chapter: Chapter 9 will be set in December of 2010, and it will most likely involve the group attending a big Christmas or New Year's party, and/or setting up for the holidays in some similar way.


	9. Decorating and Girls Night Out

**Note: **In this next chapter, we will fast forward to 6 months after the wedding and the honeymoon. This chapter will continue the pace of the story, and hopefully speed things up a bit. And one more thing, the other characters in this fanfic are back at least for this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday December 18, 2010, 1:30 pm<strong>

It's amazing how quickly time can pass between chapters, as it's already close to Christmas. Konata and Kagami were in their apartment in Kyoto, putting up their Christmas tree. Konata wore a green sweater, brown jeans and black knee high socks. Kagami wore a pink sweater, a blue skirt and red thigh high socks. "Ah I love this time of year", Konata beamed. "Me too. Christmas is always a wonderful time", Kagami agreed. "You know, this will be our first Christmas together as a family", Konata noted. "You're right. It is our first as a family", Kagami told her. "By the way, when are the girls supposed to get here?", Konata asked. "I told them 1:30, so they should be here any second", Kagami explained.

It turns out Kagami was right, because about five seconds later, they heard a knock at the door. Konata answered it and saw Tsukasa and Miyuki standing outside the door. The former girl wore a red sweater and a pink dress, and her hair was done in a ponytail. The latter girl wore a blue sweater and a purple dress and her hair was done in braided pigtails. "Hey you two!", Konata greeted, "I'm glad you guys could make it". "You're welcome, Kona-chan", Tsukasa told her, "Four heads are always better than two". "We're always happy to help you two out", Miyuki added, "The apartment is looking nice so far". So with that, the four girls got to work decorating the apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>2:00 pm<strong>

A little while later, they heard another knock at the door. This time, Kagami answered it and she saw Ayaka, Nanami, Mariko and Chiyoko standing at the door. "Are we too late to help you guys decorate?", Ayaka wondered. "Hell no, you ain't too late", Konata told her. "There's still plenty of stuff to decorate yet", Kagami added. "Thank goodness. We wanted to see if we could help out too", Nanami explained. "You know what they always say", Mariko chimed in, "Eight heads are better than two". "Actually I think the meaning is two heads are better than one", Chiyoko corrected, "But I do see your point".

While the eight girls were decorating the tree, they talked about what they were doing nowadays. As you all might already know, Ayaka and Nanami were now working part time at the jewelry shop as apprentices. "It's actually kind of fun working there", Ayaka explained, "But you need to be careful in there". "Exactly, anything that gets broken gets deducted from our pay", Nanami added, "And when we're in our last year of college, that's exactly the kind of thing that we don't need". "What university are you two attending?", Tsukasa asked. "We attend **Nagoya University**", Ayaka and Nanami replied in unison. "I've heard of that place. It sounds like a great university", Miyuki chimed in.

At that point, Mariko and Chiyoko joined the conversation. "We have jobs now too", Mariko interrupted. "You guys are working too?", Konata wondered. "Yes, starting next month, we're going to be working as student teachers", Chiyoko told her. "I plan to teach either kindergarten or 1st grade", Mariko added. "Just as I plan to teach either 5th or 6th grade", Chiyoko explained. "I didn't know **Tohoku University** offered something like that", Kagami chimed in.

* * *

><p><strong>2:10 pm<strong>

Just then, they heard another knock at the door. "Now who could _that_ be, I wonder?", Konata asked. "Gee, we're getting a lot of visitors today", Kagami mumbled. They answered the door and they saw Yutaka and Minami standing outside the door. The shorter girl donned a yellow striped long sleeved blouse and green corduroy jeans. The taller girl donned a white long sleeved blouse and a blue denim skirt that came down to her knees. "We heard you were decorating today. We wanted to help out", Yutaka explained. "May we come in?", Minami wondered. "Sure thing, you two", Konata told them. "With ten people, this job will go by really quickly", Kagami added. They walked in and now it was effectively a complete gathering.

"So how is life at the** Tokyo Institute of Technology**", Konata asked. "It's a lot of fun. I love it there, but not quite as much as I love my Minami-chan", Yutaka told her. "I also enjoy going there, just not as much as I love being with my little Yutaka", Minami added. "I'm really glad things are working out for you guys", Kagami explained. Suddenly, Yutaka let out a high pitched scream as something unusual brushed against her back. Minami's instincts kicked into overdrive and she punched the monster.

But as it turned out, the so called monster was just Tsukasa, who had the misfortune of accidentally getting herself tangled in the gold and silver tinsel. "Sorry. My bad. I thought it was a tinsel monster", Yutaka gasped, putting her hands to her head in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry!", Minami sputtered in remorse, seeming close to tears, "I didn't mean to punch you! It was an accident!". Tsukasa, her left eye now having a bruise around it, got up and brushed herself off and assured, "That's all right, you didn't mean it. It was sort of my fault".

"Are you all right, Tsukasa-san?", Miyuki asked. "I'm fine, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa told her, "She didn't even hit me too hard". "We should still put some ice on your eye", Miyuki explained. "There's some ice in the fridge", Konata stated. "I'll get it for you guys", Kagami called out as she went into the kitchen. She came out about 45 seconds later with a bag of ice, which she placed on Tsukasa's eye. "I still want to help decorate too", Tsukasa complained, "I don't want to be the only one not helping out". "I know you want to help out", Miyuki explained to her, "But you should probably just leave that on your eye for a little while so it doesn't swell up". Eventually, after about 30 minutes she was able to help out again.

* * *

><p><strong>2:50 pm<strong>

"Wait a second, what happened to the ladder? I had it here just a second ago", Konata wondered as she looked around the room with a puzzled look on her face. "Oh, Mariko and Chiyoko are using it. They said they'd bring it right back", Kagami explained to her. Since this was a pretty big tree, they needed a ladder to put all the ornaments on. It was about 3 meters (9 feet 10.11 inches) in height. It was a good thing that the apartment had a ceiling height of 4 meters (13 feet 1.48 inches). Anyway, now getting back to the story.

"Chiyoko, throw me that red ornament", Mariko called out from the top of the ladder, "I know exactly where to put it" "Mariko, have you lost your mind?", Chiyoko responded, "I can't throw this. It's made of glass!". "All right, I'll come down and get it", Mariko told her as she began to come down the ladder. However, she wound up slipping on one of the steps and fell the rest of the way down on to the floor.

"Mariko! Oh dear, are you all right?", Chiyoko gasped, clearly very concerned. "Don't worry, Chiyoko, I'm fine", Mariko assured her as she stood back up, "Luckily my butt broke my fall". "Are you sure you're all right? That was a pretty big fall", Chiyoko asked. "Yeah, I'll be fine. My bottom is just gonna be sore for a few minutes", Mariko explained. "If you say so. You had me worried there for a second of two", Chiyoko told her, catching her breath. "Hey what happened over here?", Ayaka asked. "Mariko fell off the ladder", Chiyoko told her. "Oh my! Are you all right?", Nanami wondered. "Yeah, I'm all right. I just fell on my ass, that's all", Mariko answered.

* * *

><p><strong>3:30 pm<strong>

With 10 people helping out with decorating, the job went by a whole lot quicker than it would have if Konata and Kagami had done it by themselves. By 3:30, all that was left was the star to put on top of the tree. Kagami lifted Konata up onto her shoulders so she could reach the top of the tree and told her, "Okay Konata, do your thing!". Konata placed the star on the top and called out, "All right Kagamin, I got it plugged in!".

She then jumped off of Kagami's back and exclaimed, "All right everyone! We're all done here!". The other eight girls cheered and applauded. "We couldn't have done this without you guys", Kagami explained, "So we decided to do something to make it up to you". "Get your coats everyone, because we're going to a movie and then we're going out to dinner", Konata called out, "We figured that's the least we could do". "And don't worry about having enough money", Kagami added, "We'll pay for everything".

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm<strong>

Later that night, the 10 girls left the theater after seeing the latest **Kamen Rider **movie. "Man that movie was awesome!", Konata exclaimed. "It was pretty cool", Kagami admitted. "I enjoyed it too", Tsukasa chimed in. "As did I", Miyuki added. "It was a little too intense for me", Yutaka stated. "And for me as well", Minami agreed. "You know me, I love action movies", Ayaka called out. "I know you do", Nanami told her. "Whoo! Kamen Rider is still kicking ass!", Mariko shouted. "Lower your voice, please! This is not a playground!", Chiyoko warned her.

"Okay, now with that out of the way, it's time to get some food", Konata explained. "Everyone follow us", Kagami called out. "Well we may be out 27,000 yen so far ($324.17 USD), but it's worth it tonight", Konata stated. "Yeah, it is worth it", Kagami agreed, "After what they did for us today, they all deserve something special". A little while later they arrived at the **Izusen Restaurant**. They ordered 10 Hana meals, which I suppose come with soup, rice, sashimi, vegetables and fish for a price of 2,700 yen ($32.42 USD).

With tax and tip, the total came to 33,534 yen ($402.62 USD). That meant that Konata and Kagami spent a total of 60,534 yen ($726.78 USD) treating their friends. But they didn't care, like they said, they deserved it after giving them so much help with decorating. To close out the meal, everyone lifted their drinks in the air and clinked the glasses together, like someone would do on a special occasion.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

Chapter completed on **December 8, 2011**

$1 USD = 83.2903 JPY (December 2010 statistics)

**Nagoya University **- Located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was founded in 1871 and chartered in 1939 as one of the former imperial universities. It was recently ranked by QS World University Rankings as the 80th best university in the world, and 5th best in Japan.

**Tohoku University **- Located in Sendai, Miyagi, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It opened on Saturday June 22, 1907 as one of the former imperial universities. It was recently ranked by QS World University Rankings as the 70th best university in the world, and the 4th best university in Japan

**Tokyo Institute of Technology **- Located in Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1881 It was recently ranked by QS World University Rankings as the 57th best university in the world, as well as the 3rd best university in all of Japan.

**Kamen Raidā × Kamen Raidā Ōzu ando Daburu fīcharingu Sukaru: Mūbī Taisen Koa (Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull: Movie War Core) **- a film in the Kamen Rider series. It opened on December 18, 2010 and was released by Toei Company Films, Ltd. It debuted at #1 earning 368,981,543 yen ($4,396,301 USD) in its first 2 days from 274 theaters throughout Japan. It spent 6 weeks among the Top 12 movies, and ended up reaching a final gross of 1,358,193,132 yen ($16,458,957 USD).

**Izusen Restaurant **- a Japanese restaurant located in Kita, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It serves typical Kyoto cuisine, and offers high quality Japanese food as reasonable prices.

In the Next Chapter: Chapter 10 will involve the girls attending a Christmas party and possibly a New Year's party as well.


	10. Christmas Party

**Note: **This chapter will speed up the pace a bit more. I decided to wait a little bit before uploading this chapter. You see, I wanted to upload it closer to Christmas. That and after uploading 9 chapters in a little more than 1 month, I needed a little break. I really hope you guys enjoy the chapter regardless.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday December 23, 2010, 12:10 pm<strong>

On Thursday the 23rd, Konata and Kagami were frantically running all over their apartment all morning making the final preparations for that night's Christmas party. Konata wore a blue wool sweater, brown corduroy pants and gray knee-high socks. Kagami wore a red cotton sweater, a green denim skirt, and white thigh-high socks. "Okay let's go over the checklist", Konata stated, looking at the list attached to a clipboard. "Good idea, that way we can make sure we haven't forgotten anything", Kagami replied.

"Okay let's see, is the house still decorated?", Konata asked. "Yeah, it looks like it", Kagami told her, "Have we set up some party games?". "Hell yeah, we have plenty set up already", Konata responded, "What about the snacks?". "I went to the supermarket last night and I stocked up", Kagami explained, "Oh is the eggnog ready yet?". "I've got it cooling down in the fridge", Konata replied, "What about the music?". "Oh yeah, I have all our Christmas CD's in our CD player, and a karaoke station with amplifiers in case anyone brings any instruments", Kagami answered.

"Man, this party is gonna be great!", Konata exclaimed. "I think it's going to turn out great too", Kagami answered back. "And the best part is, we did almost everything to set up this party by ourselves", Konata noted. "Yeah, we sure did, and we're finally all done!", Kagami sighed. "Well Kagamin, since we're all finished, what do you say we go out to lunch?", Konata asked, "Cause I tell you I'm getting hungry". "You know what, Konata, that's a really good idea", Kagami agreed, "I'm feeling a bit famished myself with all the work we did this morning".

With that, they got their shoes and their coats on and they locked up the apartment. They then walked down the hall and into the elevator which took them down to the first floor. I failed to mention this before, but their apartment is on the fourth floor of the building, which had a total of ten floors. Once they got down to the first floor, the girls exited through the revolving doors in the lobby, and this led them outside.

* * *

><p><strong>12:50 pm<strong>

After some time walking, Konata and Kagami eventually found a fast food joint to have lunch at. "**KFC**? All right, but its a rather unusual choice, don't you think?", Kagami wondered. "No way! One has not lived until they've had the fried chicken from Kentucky", Konata insisted. So with that, they went in to the restaurant. As is usual for this time of year, the lines were quite long. "Yeah, a lot of people pre order stuff for Christmas here", Konata explained. "Yes, I can see that", Kagami noted. After about an hour of waiting in line, the girls finally made it to the register. They decided to get a pack of chicken (6 pieces), with onion soup au gratin and corn salad, 2 small hot coffees, and 2 small frozen pudding desserts, which cost them a total of 2,610 yen ($31.34 USD). And yes, in Japan, they actually serve that at the KFC.

They sat down at a little table near the window. "Well, it took a little longer than I thought, but we finally got our lunch", Konata noted. "I just hope that our long wait was worth it", Kagami added. They then put their hands together, and said, "Thank you for the food". After that was out of the way, they started eating. "You're right, this chicken is actually pretty good", Kagami admitted. "See I told you, one has not lived until they've had the fried chicken from Kentucky", Konata reiterated. After a little while, they finished their lunch and headed back to their apartment in Kyoto.

* * *

><p><strong>7:30 pm<strong>

With everything all prepared for the Christmas party tonight, the only thing that Konata and Kagami had to do now was to get themselves ready. After a quick shower, they got dressed up in more formal attire. The older and shorter girl wore a red dress with the hem down to mid thigh, gray nylon stockings and red high heeled pumps. The younger taller girl wore pretty much the same thing, but the dress and shoes were purple, and the nylon stockings were white. Once they were dressed, they took a look at themselves in the mirror.

"You know what, Kagami. We actually look pretty good", Konata stated. "I guess you're right, Konata. You for one look downright adorable.", Kagami told her. "Why thank you, Kagami", Konata replied, blushing a bit, "And you look stunning as always". "Thank you Konata", Kagami answered back, her face turning red, "But we still have to do one more thing". "You're right. Our hair", Konata explained. "Exactly", Kagami asserted. They then put their hair into pigtails, held together by a red ribbon on the left and a green ribbon on the right.

Soon after this, they heard a knock at the door. "That must be our first guests", Kagami said. "I'll get the door", Konata called out as she rushed into the living room. She opened the door and saw Tsukasa and Miyuki standing there. The former girl wore a blue dress, black thigh high socks, and purple dress shoes. The latter girl wore a green dress, brown nylon tights, and white dress shoes, and was carrying a box.

"Hey guys, I'm really glad you could make it", Konata told them. "Of course, we wouldn't miss this party for anything", Tsukasa explained. "We also brought a cake for the party", Miyuki added. "Just put it in the fridge for now", Kagami said to them as she entered the living room. With that they put the cake in the refridgerator. Just then the girls heard another knock at the door. "Oh, more guests are here!", Konata exclaimed. "I'll get the door this time", Kagami explained.

She opened the door and Yutaka and Minami were standing there. The smaller girl wore a pink dress, lavender thigh high nylon stockings and red high heeled shoes. The taller girl wore a pale yellow dress, brown nylon tights and black dress shoes. "Hey there, you two", Kagami greeted, "Come on in". "Thank you very much", Yutaka stated, but upon taking a step she nearly toppled over. "Don't worry, I've got you", Minami told her as she caught her girlfriend in her arms. "Oh thank you, Minami-chan", Yutaka beamed. "You're welcome, Yutaka", Minami assured her.

A few minutes later, the girls heard yet another knock on the door. This time, Tsukasa and Miyuki opened the door and they saw Ayaka and Nanami standing there. The first girl wore a red sweater, green skirt, black knee high socks, and white dress shoes. The second girl wore a yellow sweater, blue skirt, slate gray thigh high socks, and dark gray dress shoes. In addition, they both had their guitars strapped on their backs.

"Well hi there!", Tsukasa greeted. "We're glad you could make it", Miyuki added. "Howdy there!", Ayaka exclaimed in her usual energetic way. "Greetings to you too", Nanami chimed in her normal calm way. "Oh look Nanami-chan! They've already got the amplifiers out", Ayaka called out. "Well, what do you know, Ayaka-san, so they do", Nanami noticed.

Not too long after that, they heard one more knock on the door. This time, Yutaka and Minami answered the door and there was Mariko standing there. She wore a carnation pink sweater, magenta skirt, violet knee high socks, and blue dress shoes, and she had cat ears on her head. "Greetings, Mariko", Yutaka greeted. "Hello there", Minami added. "Hi there, guys!", Mariko shouted cheerfully and energetically, so that everyone noticed she was here. "Oh I love your little cat ears!", Yutaka beamed. "They _are_ pretty cute", Minami added. "Oh thank you. I wanted to make an impression", Mariko explained.

"By the way, where is Chiyoko-chan?", Minami asked. "Is she sick? Did she get lost?", Yutaka questioned. "No, she's right there", Mariko explained, then turning her head shouted, "Come on Chiyoko! They're waiting for us!". "Why'd you make me wear this, Mariko? I look ridiculous!", Chiyoko called out to her. "Hang on a second", Mariko told the girls as she walked over to her friend. This is what they heard. "Nonsense, you look fine", Mariko reassured her. "Do you really think so?", Chiyoko wondered. "I know so", Mariko told her. "Well, OK, I'll come in now", Chiyoko mumbled. "That's the spirit!", Mariko exclaimed, "Come on".

So finally, with Mariko next to her, Chiyoko walked in as well. She wore a blue violet dress, salmon pink thigh high stockings, and white high heeled dress shoes, and to top it all off, she also had cat ears on her head as well as a seriously embarrassed expression on her face. "Oh my god! Chiyoko, you're so adorable!", Ayaka exclaimed. "Now that's just kawaii!", Nanami gushed. "Mariko! This is embarrassing!", Chiyoko whispered urgently to her friend. "Chiyoko, you need to lighten up. I for one, wish I could be as half as cute as you are", Mariko assured her. It took a little while, but eventually Chiyoko managed to get over her embarrassment and enjoy herself, much to Mariko's relief.

Things did get a little chaotic at the party from time to time. At one point, Mariko, along with Tsukasa, had somehow gotten themselves tangled in the tinsel strung around everywhere. And when they were walking around trying to get it off, they looked kind of silly. "Well Tsukasa, this is a weird mess we've gotten ourselves into, isn't it?", Mariko noted. "It definitely is weird, Mariko", Tsukasa agreed, "Hopefully we can get out". Eventually with some help from the other girls they managed to get untangled.

In another incident, Miyuki had accidentally tripped right into Chiyoko, and sent them both toppling into the snack table, knocking over some of the bowls and sending various assortments of potato chips flying. "Oh dear! I'm so sorry, Chiyoko-san! I didn't mean to knock you over!", Miyuki sputtered. "Don't worry, Miyuki-san. It's all right. You didn't mean it", Chiyoko assured her. Luckily, Konata and Kagami had thought ahead and they quickly restocked the bowls.

Aside from these incidents, overall the party went along smoothly. At around 9:30, Konata and Kagami went on the little stage. They decided to sing "White Christmas". They were joined by Ayaka (bass), Nanami (guitar), Mariko (drums) and Chiyoko (keyboards). As you all may know by now, Konata and Kagami both have exceptional singing voices, if Chapter 11 of my last fanfic, Holiday Vacation was any indication.

Anyway, their young, angelic voices carried out all through the apartment, as well as the rest of the building. Luckily, most of the other residents were in the Christmas spirit as well and despite the noise, none of the others complained about the distruptions. After the song, the other girls stood up and cheered. Konata and Kagami took each other by the hand and took a bow.

To close out this chapter, I'd just like to say, Merry Christmas, fellow readers, and Happy New Year!

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **December 23, 2011 **(Once again, I apologize for uploading this chapter so late. But I got caught up in holiday shopping and house decorating.)

**KFC **- short for Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC is a worldwide fast food chain owned by YUM! Brands, the same company that owns Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and WingStreet. What's worth noting is that in Japan, Christmas pretty much equals KFC, as getting preordered KFC meals is kind of a Christmas tradition for many a Japanese citizen. I've read that during the holidays, KFC Japan's sales are five times higher than other periods of the year.

In the Next Chapter: Chapter 11 will be set in March and April of 2011. In that chapter, the girls will be graduating from Kyoto University (Konata/Kagami) and the University of Tokyo (Tsukasa/Miyuki). Additionally, some more big news will be revealed that will drastically alter the course of this fanfic. It will most likely be up by no later New Years Day 2012.


	11. Big News

**Note: **To kick off 2012, here's Chapter 11. In this chapter the plot is going to start to kick in again. I apologize for the fact that it took longer than I thought it would, but I wanted to make sure it was done right. A lot happens in this chapter. What happens? You'll have to read to find out. But I promise you, it will be big.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday February 19, 2011, 10:00 am<strong>

After a long discussion between them and their respective parents, Konata and Kagami decided that they wanted to have a child of their own. So on the 19th of February, they set an appointment at the artificial insemination clinic. Now to explain this process would take far too long, so I would probably ask you all to look it up. However, I should warn you it could cause some of you a fair bit of squick. Now I should get back to the story.

Anyway, the girls were sitting in the insemination clinic, waiting rather nervously for the doctor to call them in. Now they had already decided that Konata would be the one to have this baby, and she was understandably a bundle of nerves. "You probably know this, Kagamin, but my mom passed away not long after I was born", she explained to her wife. "Yes, I know that, dear. You've told me", Kagami replied back. "I was not even 2 when she passed away", Konata continued, "I do remember going to her funeral, I think in March of 1991. My dad was really broken up over her passing".

"Well, why wouldn't he be upset?", Kagami added, "He's the one who lost his wife". "Anyway, they said that she died of leukemia or something like that", Konata concluded, "And even though I tested negative for it, I'm still scared about this". Kagami turned to Konata and saw that the latter girl had tears filling her eyes. "Come on, Konata. If you tested negative for it, there's no reason to worry. Besides, I'll take care of you", Kagami assured Konata as she put her arms around her and wiped her wife's eyes with a tissue, "There, there. No need to cry". It took a few minutes but eventually Konata calmed herself down.

"You're right, Kagami. I need to be brave. I'm not a little girl anymore", Konata declared, "I'll do it! For you, for me, and for us!". "Now that's my Konata!", Kagami asserted. With that, a nurse gave them the message to go in. With that, Konata walked into the procedural area with her head held up high. Kagami followed her in a few seconds after.

* * *

><p><strong>11:30 am<strong>

Soon after they were finished, Konata and Kagami exited the clinic. "Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be", Konata noted, "Even though you got sick when they put the you know what in". "I couldn't help it", Kagami protested, "I've never seen someone put that into a you know what before!". "Well, anyway I'm just glad the procedure's over", Konata told her. "So am I", Kagami agreed.

"Now we need to get home and pack!", Konata called out. "What? Why?", Kagami sputtered. "Remember, we bought the tickets for that **K-ON** concert tomorrow at the **Saitama Super Arena**", Konata reminded her. "Oh right. I forgot", Kagami sighed, not awaiting the surely huge crowd crush that would result. "And we can't forget our costumes", Konata added. "We have to dress up as the characters too?", Kagami sputtered. "I told you that when we bought the tickets", Konata explained, "Now come on!". Kagami sighed in exasperation as her wife dragged her by the arm and they ran off.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday March 24, 2011, 10:30 pm<strong>

After a very long day of celebrating their graduation from Kyoto University, Konata and Kagami returned to their apartment. Both were wearing special graduation kimonos. They were exhausted but at the same time, relieved that all their hard work at school had finally paid off. "Well I'll tell you, Kagamin. I'm glad that school is all done and over with", Konata sighed. "I know what you mean, Konata", Kagami agreed, "After 4 years of college, we finally have our diplomas".

Just then, they heard the phone ring. "Don't get up, Kagamin. I'll get it", Konata called out as she rose from her seat. "Thank you, Konata", Kagami told her as she slumped onto the couch. "Hello, Izumi-Hiiragi Residence, Konata speaking", Konata greeted.

On the other end of the line, Tsukasa greeted Konata with, "Hi there, Kona-chan!". "Hey Tsukasa, what's up?", Konata wondered. "Yuki-chan and I got our diplomas this morning", Tsukasa answered. "What a coincidence, Kagami and I got ours today too", Konata told her. "And do you know what else, Kona-chan?", Tsukasa asked.

"What else, Tsukasa?", Konata wondered. "Yuki-chan was the university's valedictorian!", Tsukasa exclaimed. "I always knew that Miyuki-san would end up being a valedictorian", Konata admitted, "The girl's got a set of encyclopedias inside her brain". Tsukasa giggled and said, "Pretty much, hey is Kagami there?". Konata replied, "Sure thing, hang on a second". She then handed Kagami the portable phone, and said to her, "Tsukasa's on the phone. She and Miyuki-san got their diplomas today just like we did".

"Hello?", Kagami greeted. "Hiya sis!", Tsukasa cheered. "Hi there, Tsukasa, so I heard that you and Miyuki graduated from the University of Tokyo today", Kagami replied back. "Yeah, and Yuki-chan was the valedictorian", Tsukasa added, "Good thing she didn't have to do a speech like she did at our high school graduation". "Yeah, I know how she is doing things like that", Kagami answered laughing a bit.

"And you know, Kagami was the salutatorian at Kyoto University", Konata shouted into the phone. "Wow, that's great, Sis", Tsukasa cheered. "Thanks, Tsukasa", Kagami replied. "I actually called to tell you something really important", Tsukasa explained, "Make sure you both can hear". "I'll put you on speakerphone", Kagami told her, pressing a button on the phone. "So what did you need to tell us?", Konata asked.

"Tomorrow night, when we go out to dinner at **Nagatacho Kurosawa**, I'm going to propose to Yuki-chan", Tsukasa told them. "Really, that's wonderful!", Konata exclaimed. "Yes, it is!", Kagami agreed. "I already bought her a beautiful ring", Tsukasa went on, "It cost me 500,000 yen ($6,118.47 USD) but for Yuki-chan, it's worth every penny".

"I'm sure she'll love it", Konata told her. "I actually want you guys to come with us", Tsukasa continued, "If you don't mind". "Sure we'll come, Tsukasa", Kagami assured her, "Where should we meet?". "I think around noon at Tokyo Tower", Tsukasa replied. "We'll be there come hell or high water", Konata and Kagami announced in unison.

"Thanks you two. I really appreciate it", Tsukasa thanked them. With that, they said their goodbyes and hung up. After the conversation on the phone ended, Konata and Kagami, already exhausted fell asleep right there on the couch still wearing their kimonos.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday March 25, 2011, 12:00 pm<strong>

The next day, Konata and Kagami met Tsukasa and Miyuki at Tokyo Tower. "Hey there, guys", Konata called out. "Hi Sis. Hi Kona-chan.", Tsukasa replied. "Greetings Konata-san and Kagami-san", Miyuki greeted ever politely. "Hi there, you two", Kagami responded, "And by the way, Miyuki, congrats on being valedictorian of your class". "Thank you very much", Miyuki replied, blushing a bit. All four girls had on really nice dresses and matching high heeled shoes. It was a partly cloudy afternoon. It was supposed to rain later on, but they would be at dinner by that point.

Later on while they were shopping, Tsukasa kept Konata and Kagami informed about her plan to propose to Miyuki. While Miyuki was in another shop, Tsukasa showed the other two girls the ring she had bought her. It was a beautiful 24-karat gold ring, studded with little 1 karat opal diamonds, and topped with a 4 karat crystal diamond. "That is a beautiful ring", Konata replied. "I'm sure Miyuki will love it", Kagami agreed. With that, Tsukasa put it back in her bag before Miyuki came out of the store.

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm<strong>

Later on, at Nagatacho Kurosawa, the girls were directed to a table in the middle of the restaurant. They saw Mariko and Chiyoko sitting down at the table next to them. But the catch was that they were both banged up pretty badly. Mariko had both her right arm and her left leg in a cast, and bandages on her forehead. Chiyoko had her right leg in a cast, and bandages on her nose.

"What the hell happened to you two?", Konata sputtered. "We were caught in that earthquake two weeks ago", Mariko answered. "Oh yeah, you guys go to Tohoku University right?", Kagami asked. "We had just gotten out of class, when the earthquake hit", Chiyoko told them, "And part of the building came down on us!". "Oh my god! Really?", Tsukasa wondered, "That sounds terrible". "Three of our classmates were killed", Chiyoko continued. "I'm really sorry to hear that", Miyuki told them.

"Chiyoko and I were lucky. We were pulled out of the rubble within an hour I think it was", Mariko explained to them. "Mariko jumped on top of me when the rubble came down and she saved my life", Chiyoko exclaimed. "Good for you, Mariko!", Konata cheered. "That was a very brave thing you did", Kagami told her.

"Oh gosh, I just did what I had to do", Mariko insisted, blushing a bit, "I couldn't let my best friend in the world die in front of me". "Don't be so modest, Mariko", Chiyoko told her, "Like they said, it took real guts to do that". "You really think so, Chiyoko?", Mariko wondered, blushing even more. "Of course I do", Chiyoko insisted with tears filling her eyes, "You may not see yourself as one, but to me you are a hero". With that, the two girls hugged each other and thanked each other.

* * *

><p><strong>7:30 pm<strong>

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. At around 7:00, Konata announced to everyone that she was pregnant. "Wow, that's great Kona-chan!", Tsukasa exclaimed, "But how can two women have a baby?". "Well, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki told her, "Through the modern day miracles of artificial insemination". "That's awesome! When is the baby due?", Mariko asked. "Sometime in November", Kagami explained. "Well I for one wish you the best of luck", Chiyoko chimed in. "Thank you, Chiyoko", Konata told her. And finally at around 7:30 came the big moment.

"Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa asked. "Yes, Tsukasa-san. What is it?", Miyuki answered. "I actually have another little surprise for you", Tsukasa told her. "Oh really, what is it?", Miyuki wondered. "I'm about to show you, but first you have to close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you", Tsukasa explained. "Well all right, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki replied as she closed her eyes, "I'll play along". Konata turned to Kagami and whispered, "This is it!". Kagami replied to Konata, "I know, right?", as she signaled to Mariko and Chiyoko to be as quiet as they could.

Tsukasa got down on one knee and got the ring out of her bag. Miyuki, who still had her eyes closed, then asked, "Tsukasa-san can I look yet?". Tsukasa answered by replying, "Okay, Yuki-chan you can look now!". Miyuki opened her eyes and she saw the ring. She was standing at the time, and when she saw the ring she gasped and fell back in the chair.

"Will you marry me, Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa asked nervously. "Yes, Tsukasa-san! I will marry you!", Miyuki exclaimed happily with tears running down her face. "Really? You will?", Tsukasa wondered, her heart rising and tears filling her own eyes. "Of course!", Miyuki cheered, throwing her arms around Tsukasa, "But do we have permission?". "I got the permission of both my parents and your parents", Tsukasa asserted. "That gives me so much relief", Miyuki whispered. Tsukasa then threw her arms around Miyuki and beamed, "Me and Yuki-chan are going to be a couple!".

"Beautiful, isn't it?", Konata asked. "Yes it is a wonderful sight", Kagami told her. "This is great!", Mariko shouted gleefully. "They do make an adorable couple", Chiyoko agreed. Tsukasa and Miyuki then ran out into the rain, caught up in the moment. "I love you, Yuki-chan!", Tsukasa whispered. "And I love you too, Tsukasa-san!", Miyuki replied softly. With that, they embraced each other and kissed each other passionately on the lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **January 5, 2012**

At the start of this chapter, Konata is talking to Kagami about how her mother passed away not too long after giving birth to her. It is not explicitly stated what killed Kanata or when exactly it killed her. My estimate is that she died on Saturday March 16, 1991, but of course it may be another date. Konata was 1 year and almost 10 months old at the time.

**K-ON! **- another smash hit series produced by Kyoto Animation. It ran for two seasons. Season 1 ran from April to July of 2009. Season 2 ran from April to September of 2010. A movie was released to Japanese theaters on Saturday December 3, 2011. As of January 1, 2012, the film has made 1,327,203,519 yen ($17,253,646 USD) at the box office.

**Saitama Super Arena **- a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chuo-ku, Saitama City, Saitama. It opened on Friday September 1, 2000 and can hold up to 37,000 spectators. It hosts many sporting and music events every year, including the K-ON Come with Me Live Event (the concert that Konata and Kagami attended) which was held on Sunday February 20, 2011.

The University of Tokyo held its 2011 commencement ceremony on Thursday March 24, 2011, the same day that Kyoto University held its graudation ceremony. It was supposed to be held earlier but was pushed back due to the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan earlier that month.

Kyoto University held its 2011 commencement ceremony on Thursday March 24, 2011, the same day as the University of Tokyo's graduation ceremony.

$1 USD = 81.7198 JPY in March of 2011.

**Nagatacho Kurosawa Restaurant **- located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. It is an A-list restaurant combining great Japanese food with Hollywood glamour. Meals cost anywhere from 5,000 to 15,000 yen ($61.18 to $183.55 USD).

The incident that Mariko and Chiyoko are talking about was the 2011 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. You guys probably already know all about this though, so I'm not going to describe it further.


	12. 1st Anniversary and an Ultrasound

**Note: **In this chapter, the pace will speed up once more. Konata and Kagami celebrate their first wedding anniversary and find out the gender of their baby. I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

><p><strong>Sunday June 12, 2011, 8:30 am<strong>

"BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!", the alarm clock on the nightstand sounded off. Konata pushed the off button to silence the alarm. She then turned to Kagami and whispered to her, "Happy Anniversary". Likewise, Kagami whispered back, "Happy Anniversary to you too". They both rubbed their little noses together and giggled a bit. And with that, they got out of bed and went down to make themselves breakfast. After that was done, they sat at the table to eat.

"So Kagamin, what should we do today?", Konata asked. "I don't know Konata, what do you think we should do?", Kagami replied. After thinking for a few minutes they decided to stop thinking for the moment and finish their breakfast. After they finished they went back to their room, washed up and got dressed. Konata put on a red T-shirt, dark green shorts, black knee high socks, and blue sneakers. Kagami put on a cyan T-shirt, magenta skirt, white over knee nylons, and light yellow dress shoes.

After a few more minutes of thinking they finally decided to do something. "I've got an idea, Kagami. Why don't we go and see a movie for right now?", Konata suggested, "Then after that we can figure out something else to do". "That's a great idea, Konata", Kagami replied, "There's quite a few good films out right now. And there are five new movies out this weekend".

Before they left, Kagami noticed something. "You know Konata", she told her wife, "I think your baby belly is starting to come in". "I think it is Kagami", Konata replied back, "I had a little bit of trouble putting my T-shirt on this morning". "That's the thing with being pregnant", Kagami explained, "Your belly gets a little bigger each day". With that, they walked out of their apartment making sure to lock the door.

A little while later, they made it to the movie theater. "Uh Kagamin, I can't decide what I want to see", Konata explained. "Oh Konata, then why did you tell me that you knew what you wanted to see?", Kagami complained in exasperation, putting her hand to her forehead. "I thought I knew myself", Konata told her, "Well, what do you want to see?". "That **Super Sentai **movie looks pretty good", Kagami answered. "Then how about we see that?", Konata suggested. "All right, that sounds like a plan to me", Kagami stated.

With that, they got in line and purchased their tickets, which cost them 2,400 yen ($29.83 USD) or 1,250 yen each ($14.92 USD). The food at the concession stand (2 medium popcorns, 2 medium sodas, and 4 boxes of candy), cost them 2,800 yen ($34.80 USD), and headed to Screen #2. They took their seats in the middle of the theater in an aisle seat. When the movie began there were about 70 people in the screening room. The movie only lasted about 80 minutes (or 1 hour and 20 minutes).

After the movie, Konata and Kagami decided to go out to lunch. They managed to find a **McDonald's **down the street from the theater. They went in and walked up to the register, "Good afternoon, welcome to McDonald's", the waitress explained to them, "May I take your order".

"I think I'd like a Grand Canyon burger, with a large fry and a large Coca-Cola", Konata told her. "And I will have a Double Quarter Pounder burger with a medium fry and a medium Sprite", Kagami stated. "Sure thing ladies, I'll get those for you right away", the waitress said to them.

It took about 2 or 3 minutes to get their order. They paid for their order and sat down at a table. It took about 30 minutes for them to finish eating. After they finished, they walked out of the restaurant. "Hey, what time is it anyway?", Konata asked. "About 1 p.m.", Kagami told her.

When Konata and Kagami got back to their apartment in **Higashiyama**, they found a little surprise waiting for them. "Oh look, there's a note on the door", Kagami noted, "I wonder what it says". Konata took the note down from the door and read it. "To Konata and Kagami. Meet us at **Kyoto Tower** at 2:30 this afternoon. We have a bit of a surprise waiting for you two. Sincerly, Tsukasa and Miyuki", she read.

"Kyoto Tower", Kagami noted, "That's not too far from here". "I wonder what they have planned for us this time", Konata wondered, "Well, we should head out now". With that, they walked to **Kiyomizu-Gojo Station **which took about 10 minutes. They boarded the 2:02 pm train that would take them to the **Kyoto Station**. They arrived at Kyoto Station at 2:20 pm. After they got off the train, Konata and Kagami then walked the 550 meters (1,804.46 feet or a little more than one third of a mile) to Kyoto Tower, which took about 6 minutes.

* * *

><p><strong>2:30 pm<strong>

When Konata and Kagami got to Tokyo Tower, they saw Tsukasa and Miyuki waiting for them at the entrance. The former girl wore a yellow dress with pink printed flowers and white high heeled sandals. The latter girl wore a blue dress with purple printed flowers and black high heeled pumps. "Hi there, guys!", Tsukasa cheered. "Greetings, Konata-san and Kagami-san", Miyuki greeted. "Hey you two", Konata replied. "So what's going on?", Kagami asked. "We're all going up to the top", Tsukasa and Miyuki told them. "Well, all right. That sounds cool", Konata answered. "I'm up for it too", Kagami explained.

So with that, they went up to the observation deck and took a look at the view. Later on that night, they all went out for dinner to talk about things. "How did you guys put the note on our door?", Konata asked. "Well, we're moving in to the same building you guys are living in", Tsukasa answered. "Really?", Kagami wondered. "Yes, really", Miyuki told her.

"By the way, when's the wedding supposed to be?", Konata wondered. "We've scheduled it for September 10th", Tsukasa told her. "Where is it going to be held?", Kagami asked. "We're probably going to get married in New York", Miyuki answered, "It's one of six states that permit same-sex marriage".

"Holy shit! I've just realized something!", Konata exclaimed. "Oh really, what might that be?", Kagami questioned. "When Tsukasa and Miyuki-san get married, we'll all be sisters", Konata explained. "Oh my god! You're right! Imagine that. The four of us, sisters", Kagami answered. "Did you hear that, Yuki-chan? We're all going to be sisters now", Tsukasa said gleefully. "Yes, Tsukasa-san, I did hear that. And I am really looking forward to it", Miyuki told her.

* * *

><p><strong>Monday July 25, 2011<strong>

At Kyoto General Hospital, Konata and Kagami were sitting in the reception room, waiting to see the radiologist. The former wore a red T-shirt, blue shorts, and purple strap-on sandals. The latter wore a yellow tanktop, a green skirt, and brown dress shoes. Now you might be asking yourself why are the girls at the hospital? Well, as Konata was now in her 22nd week of pregnancy, the time had finally come to find out whether their baby would be a boy or a girl. By this point, Konata's baby belly had become even more obvious.

"Well Kagami, what do you think?", Konata asked, "What gender do you think our baby will be?". "Personally, I hope it will be a girl", Kagami told her. "Well, you know me, I'd be happy with either a boy or a girl", Konata explained, "Oh! I think I can feel it kicking now". Kagami put her hand on Konata's abdomen and she also felt a small little kick. "You're right, Konata", she told her, "I feel it kicking too".

"You know, Kagami. I had a bit of trouble putting my shirt on this morning", Konata answered. "That's understandable, given your baby belly", Kagami replied back. "Not only that, but since my ankles have started to swell up, my shoes are getting tighter", Konata continued, lifting up her leg, "These are much looser than normal and they still feel a little tight". "Don't worry Konata", Kagami assured her, "That's normal for a pregnant woman. Mom says she went through the same thing".

"Mrs. Izumi, Mrs. Hiiragi, the doctor will see you now", the nurse called out to them. With that, Konata and Kagami walked into the room where they do the ultrasounds. A few minutes later, the doctor came in and she began to do the ultrasound. First thing she did was apply the gel to Konata's stomach so that the image would be clearer. Then she ran the little machine over her stomach. And then an image appeared on the little screen on the machine.

"Well, Mrs. Izumi and Mrs. Hiiragi", the doctor told them, "I am proud to say that you're the parents of a baby girl". "All right!", Konata exclaimed, "Did you hear that, Kagami?". "Yep Konata, I heard all right", Kagami answered, "We're going to have a little girl". With that, Konata and Kagami hugged each other and gently kissed each other once on the lips.

Soon after, they were told that everything was all done. And with that, they walked out of the hospital. "You know, Kagami. I'm getting hungry", Konata said. "Me too, Konata. Luckily, we'll be home in a few minutes", Kagami said to her as she called for a taxi. "I don't know about you, but right now, I'm in the mood for a peanut butter, pastrami, pepperoni and pickle sandwich on pumpernickel", Konata explained.

"Looks like the weird food cravings have set in", Kagami thought to herself, her face turning slightly green at the thought of the sandwich Konata described. "Well we'll stop at the store to pick up those things before we head home", she told her wife as they walked off.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Chapter completed on **January 16, 2012**

**Gokaiger Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Great Battle** - a tokusatsu film in the Super Sentai franchise produced by Toei Films, Bandai and TV Asahi. It was released on Saturday June 11, 2011 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Super Sentai series, which was a huge influence for the Power Rangers series. It earned 286,185,909 JPY ($3,565,291 USD) from 282 theaters in its opening weekend, ranking #2 for the weekend. It spent 5 weeks in the top 10 and eventually made a total of 850,757,270 JPY ($10,785,185 USD).

$1 USD was worth 80.4486 JPY in June of 2011.

**McDonald's **- Founded on Wednesday May 15, 1940 in San Bernadino, California, and franchised on Friday April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois. It now has more than 33,000 stores in 119 countries run by 400,000 employees, serving 64 million customers daily.

**Higashiyama-ku **- One of the eleven wards of Kyoto in the Kyoto Prefecture. It was created in 1929 after it was split off from the Shimogyo-ku ward. The name literally means "Eastern Mountain District", and its population is the smallest of all 11 wards.

**Kyoto Tower **- an observation tower located in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. It opened on Monday December 28, 1964. Besides its observation deck at 100 meters (328 feet), the base holds a 9 story building which includes a 3-star hotel.

**Kiyomizu-Gojo Station **- a train station located in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. It opened in 1910 as the Gojo Station, and it obtained its current name on Sunday October 19, 2008.

**Kyoto Station - **located in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, it is one of the largest train stations in Japan. It opened on Sunday February 5, 1877. The station serves several rail lines including the JR Line and the Kyoto Municipal Subway.

As of January 2012, same-sex marriage is permitted in the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as in Washington D.C.

Usually a baby's gender is not fully known until around the 20th week of pregnancy.

In the Next Chapter: Chapter 13 will focus on Tsukasa and Miyuki's wedding and the events that surround it.


	13. Another Wedding

Note: We're now switching gears a bit. Over the next few chapters, the main focus will be on Tsukasa and Miyuki as they get married and go on their honeymoon. This time, the honeymoon won't take up as many chapters so I'm going to cram in as much activity as I can within a space of 3 or 4 chapters.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday August 12, 2011, 1:30 pm<strong>

While everything else was going on in the world, Tsukasa and Miyuki were in their apartment in Kyoto, deep into planning for their wedding the following month. The older girl had on a yellow T-shirt, a green skirt, and white over knee socks. The younger girl had on a blue dress with the skirt reaching mid thigh, and black nylon stockings.

"So it's agreed, Yuki-chan. We're getting married in **New York City**", Tsukasa stated. "Yes, Tsukasa-san. Then after the wedding, we stay in New York City for our honeymoon", Miyuki explained. At the same time, Mr. and Mrs. Hiiragi, and Mr. and Mrs. Takara came walking into the room.

"Hi Mom. Hi Dad.", Tsukasa called out to her parents. "Hi there, sweetie", Miki replied. "Hello, Tsukasa", Tadao responded. "Greetings, Mother. Greetings, Father", Miyuki called out to her parents. "Good morning, dear", Yukari answered. "Greetings, Miyuki", Hachiro added.

"We've already decided where we want to get married", Tsukasa explained. "New York City performs same sex marriages", Miyuki added in, "And if it's not too much trouble we'd like to stay there for our honeymoon". Upon hearing this, Tadao and Miki both turned a bit pale and couldn't quite figure out how to answer. "Well, that certainly seems a bit extravagant", Tadao commented. "I don't know how we're going to pay for it", Miki answered.

"Now don't you two worry yourselves sick about it", Hachiro assured them, "I'll gladly pay for the whole thing". "But Hachiro, we couldn't let you do that", Tadao protested. "We wouldn't feel comfortable with you spending all of your own hard earned money on this", Miki agreed. "Don't worry about a thing", Hachiro reiterated, "I had a feeling that this day would come eventually". "He's right, so the two of us have been saving up since Tsukasa and Miyuki began dating each other", Yukari chimed in.

"Wait a second, can I say something", Tsukasa interrupted. "Well, certainly Tsukasa", Miki told her. "Be our guest", Tadao answered. "We've been saving up as well", Tsukasa said to them then turning to Miyuki, asked, "How much have we saved so far, Yuki-chan?". "Well, Tsukasa-san, I believe we have raised about 4 million yen ($51,951.02 USD) so far", Miyuki explained, "So we can pay for at least some part of the wedding as well".

"Well, if you two insist, that's fine with us if you want to help pay for it", Yukari called out. "I appreciate the fact that you two want to help, but _we'll_ pay for the actual wedding", Hachiro reiterated, "You two should save your money for your honeymoon, because I've heard that staying in the Big Apple can be expensive".

"Thank you all so much for making this happen", Tsukasa cheered. "Yes, this might not have happened if it were not for everything you have done", Miyuki chimed in. With that, they hugged their respective parents as well as their soon to be in-laws and once again thanked them. "You don't know how greatful we are", Tsukasa told them. "I don't know how we will ever be able to repay you all", Miyuki added.

"You don't need to repay us for this", Tadao replied. "This is the kind of thing that parents do", Miki added. "But if you want to repay us, you can do it by being a happy married couple", Hachiro explained. "They all have a point. Go out and be free, little ones!", Yukari concluded.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday August 18, 2011, 10:30 am <strong>

A few days later, Tsukasa and Miyuki were busy looking through their old photo albums, reminiscing on days gone by. The former wore a pink T-shirt, white shorts, and green strap-on sandals. The latter wore a red short sleeved blouse, a purple knee length skirt and blue dress shoes.

"Look at this, Tsukasa-san. There we are at our graduation from Ryoyou", Miyuki explained. "I still remember that day, you were the valedictorian of our class right, Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa asked. "Yes, and I remember I had to give a speech, so I was a nervous wreck the whole week before", Miyuki told her. "But luckily, you managed to get over your nervousness and you even earned a standing ovation from the crowd", Tsukasa added.

Just then, they heard a knock at the door. "Hmm, I wonder who that could be", Tsukasa wondered. "I'll go and see who's at the door", Miyuki answered back. She walked up to the door and asked, "Who is it?". She then heard a familiar voice call out, "Don't worry. It's just us". Miyuki opened the door and she saw Konata and Kagami standing there. The older girl wore a green T-shirt, brown shorts and white strap-on sandals. The younger girl wore a white tanktop, a blue skirt, and black dress shoes.

"Hi there guys!", Tsukasa greeted. "Please do come in", Miyuki stated as she held open the door. "Hey you two", Konata called out. "We'd just thought we'd drop in", Kagami added. "So what have you guys been up to?", Konata asked. "We've just been looking at our old photo albums", Tsukasa told her. "What have you two been doing in your spare time?", Miyuki wondered. "We just got back from lamaze class", Kagami explained.

"I think I'm really getting the hang of my breathing technique now", Konata noted before she practiced a little bit. "Yep, you're definitely getting better at it, but now isn't the time to practice", Kagami told her. Suddenly, Konata's face turned a sickly shade of green. "Konata, what's wrong?", Kagami wondered, "Do you feel like you're gonna be sick?". Konata nodded yes and whispered, "I think so". With that, she ran into the bathroom and about 5 seconds later, ejected the contents of her stomach right into the toilet.

About a minute or two later, Konata came out of the bathroom, clearly looking quite drained. "Sorry about that, guys", she apologized then she grumbled to herself, "Stupid morning sickness". "It's all right, Kona-chan", Tsukasa assured her. "It's just a part of the pregnancy process", Kagami added. "Besides, I have read that vomiting during pregnancy is a good sign that the baby will be born healthy", Miyuki explained.

"Oh by the way, when's the baby coming?", Tsukasa asked. "The doctor said that the baby will probably be born around November 11th", Kagami explained to her. "And the doctor also said that we're going to have a baby girl", Konata added. "Congratulations you two. I wish you the best of luck", Miyuki told them.

"Ooh, the baby's kicking again. You guys can feel her if you want", Konata noted. "Can we do that?", Tsukasa wondered. "Sure, I don't see why not", Kagami answered back. "All right then", Miyuki replied. With that being said, Tsukasa and Miyuki each put one of their hands on Konata's stomach, and sure enough they felt a light tap. "I feel her kicking!", Tsukasa exclaimed. "So do I", Miyuki agreed.

"One more thing, when is the wedding?", Konata asked. "The wedding is going to be on September 10th", Miyuki answered. "We're having it in New York City", Tsukasa added, "We already sent out the invitations". "We already got our invitation", Kagami told them. "Just think in a few more weeks, we're all going to officially be one big happy family", Konata chimed in. "And I for one can't wait for that", Kagami said to her.

At the same time, Tsukasa and Miyuki hugged each other and rubbed their noses together. "I love you so much, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa beamed. "And I love you very much too, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki answered her. With that, they kissed each other on the lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday September 10, 2011, 12:00 pm<strong>

After nearly 6 months of planning, the day of Tsukasa and Miyuki's wedding had finally arrived. Just as they had planned, the wedding was held in New York City, where same sex marriage could legally be performed. Even though it was overcast that day, the guests all tried to make the best of it. The temperature was a pleasant 74 degrees. The wedding would be held at the **Marriott Hotel at the Brooklyn Bridge**. But enough about that, let's get to the actual wedding.

The limousine pulled up and Tsukasa and Miyuki stepped out both wearing wedding dresses. The only thing that was different was the color, as Tsukasa's dress was a light yellow and Miyuki's dress was a light blue. The whole family and their friends was already there awaiting the arrival of the two young brides. Mr. Hiiragi and Mr. Takara walked their daughters into the ballroom of the hotel where the wedding would take place.

Now to save time here, I'll just skip right to the part you're all waiting for: the "I do's". "Do you, Tsukasa, take Miyuki to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?", the minister asked. "Yes, I do", Tsukasa stated. The minister then turned to Miyuki and asked, "Do you, Miyuki, take Tsukasa to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do you part?". "Yes I do", Miyuki replied.

With that, the minister turned to the audience and told them, "Now if there is anyone among us that has any objections as to why these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace". After waiting a full minute, he once again turned to Tsukasa and Miyuki and declared, "Then by the power vested in me, by the State of New York, on behalf of Kyoto, Japan, I now pronounce you wife and wife. You two may kiss now".

Upon hearing this, Tsukasa and Miyuki leaned their heads towards each other to kiss. However, it didn't quite work the first time as they just ended up bonking each other on the forehead. The second time was the charm as they managed to kiss each other on the lips. Everyone stood up and applauded. Now you might be wondering what the newly married couple is thinking right now. Well, let's take a listen.

Tsukasa: My dream has come true. Yuki-chan and I are a married couple now. I'm so happy.

Miyuki: I have just married Tsukasa-san, the woman of my dreams and I could not be happier.

And now let's see what everyone else is thinking.

Konata: All right! Now we're officially a family.

Kagami: I can only imagine all the fun times we'll have.

Yutaka: How romantic! They make an adorable couple.

Minami: They do make a really cute couple.

Inori: Welcome to the family, Miyuki.

Matsuri: That a girl, Tsukasa.

Ayaka: This is frigging awesome! I'm _really_ glad we got this on tape.

Nanami: What a beautiful moment.

Mariko: That was so goddamn EPIC! I don't know if I'll be able to contain myself.

Chiyoko: They deserve to be together forever. Just look at how happy they are.

Now for the adults.

Tadao: I know that Miyuki and her parents will make a wonderful addition to the family.

Miki: This is so romantic. It sort of reminds me of when we got married way back in 1982.

Sojiro: Well, I've gained another brother and another sister. More importantly, I've gained another daughter. Oh happy day!

Hachiro: I can only imagine what the family gatherings will be like from now on. (laughs) They'd be pretty huge that's for sure.

Yukari: My little girl's gotten married. This is the happiest day of my life!

* * *

><p><strong>10:00 pm<strong>

After the reception at the Marriott, Tsukasa and Miyuki prepared to head into the limousine that would take them to the **Ritz Carlton New York Central Park **hotel where they would be staying during their honeymoon. Before they left though, it was time for the tradition of throwing the bouquet and the garter.

With that, Tsukasa lifted up her left leg, then Miyuki gently slipped the garter of her wife's leg and then tossed it into the crowd. By some really odd coincidence, the garter was caught by Ayaka, Nanami, Mariko _and _Chiyoko. "Well this is a bit awkward, isn't it?", Ayaka noted. "I second that sentiment", Nanami agreed. "It _is_ pretty lucky though", Mariko cut in. "Maybe the luck will spread to all of us, since we all have our hands on it", Chiyoko commented.

Just as they were heading out, Tsukasa threw the bouquet of flowers into the awaiting crowd. It ended up being caught by Yutaka and Minami. "Wow, how lucky are we, Minami-chan!", Yutaka exclaimed, "We caught the bouquet! This is great!". "Last time we caught the garter, now we have the bouquet", Minami replied, "I heard Miyuki say one time that whoever catches the bouquet will be next in line for marriage".

And so with those activities out of the way, Tsukasa and Miyuki bid farewell to the crowd as they got into the limousine and they drove off to the Ritz Carlton.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **January 22, 2012**

$1 USD was worth 76.9956 JPY in August 2011

**New York City **- the most populous city in the United States, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. According to the 2010 United States Census, a total of 8.2 million people live through its five districts (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island), which take up 303 square miles or 786 square kilometers.

**Marriott Hotel at the Brooklyn Bridge - **the only full service hotel in Brooklyn, New York City's most populous district. Besides the 376 guest rooms, it also holds New York City's fourth largest ballroom at 18,000 square feet, and a total of 27,000 square feet of flexible banquet space. It is also one of the places in New York City where a same-sex marriage ceremony is allowed to take place.

**Ritz Carlton New York Central Park **- part of the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain. This location near Central Park features 259 lavishly appointed guest rooms, including 47 suites. In 2011, Travel + Leisure: 500 World's Best named it as the best hotel in New York City, the second best in the United States, and the 58th best hotel in the world. There are too many features to list here.


	14. New York Part 2

**Note: **In this chapter and the next few chapters, the story will focus on Tsukasa and Miyuki's honeymoon in New York City. The pace slows down slightly in this chapter. However, next chapter will try to kick it up again.

**Another Note:** Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. You see, I got a severe case of writer's block for some reason. Also I apologize if this chapter might be slightly shorter than the last.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday September 10, 2011, 10:05 pm<strong>

Inside the limosuine, Tsukasa and Miyuki, our two newlyweds were talking about how far they had come in their relationship in the last four years. "You know, Yuki-chan. I can't believe how far we've come in the last few years", Tsukasa sighed. "I second that statement, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki agreed, "It seems like just yesterday that we started dating".

"I still remember that day", Tsukasa continued, "We had just gotten out of one of the Bleach movies and we were at that cake buffet place". "Yes, and at the moment we confessed, Konata-san and Kagami-san were up on stage singing The Time of My Life", Miyuki added. "And what a fitting song it was", Tsukasa chimed in. "Yes it was extremely fitting", Miyuki stated.

"All right, ladies, we are now on the **Brooklyn Bridge**", the driver explained to them. As the limousine continued on, Tsukasa and Miyuki marveled at the sight of New York City at night. "Look at all the lighted buildings, Yuki-chan!", Tsukasa exclaimed, "Isn't it beautiful?" "Yes it is, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki agreed, "New York City can sometimes be at its most beautiful at night". Not too long after that, at around 10:20, the limousine arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park Hotel.

"Well, this is the place, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki said as she helped Tsukasa out of the limo. "Wow, Yuki-chan, this hotel is beautiful!", Tsukasa exclaimed. "Not only that, but I've read it's considered to be the best in New York City and one of the best in the whole United States", Miyuki explained. "Wow! I just hope we get our money's worth.", Tsukasa answered.

After the driver got their luggage out, the girls paid him his fee plus a $30 tip. "Thank you very much, ladies. I'm glad I could be of assistance", he told them as he climbed back into the limo and drove off. A few seconds later, two hotel attendants, one male and one female, came out of the entrance, with one of those neat luggage carrying things on wheels in tow.

"Good evening, ladies. We've been expecting you two", the man greeted. "May we help you with your luggage?", the woman asked. "Yes, please", Tsukasa answered. "It would be very helpful", Miyuki added. "All right then, we'll bring them up to your suite", the man told them. "Thank you very much", Tsukasa and Miyuki chanted in unison. "Anything to make our customers happy", the woman explained. As the girls went inside, they paid both of the attendants a $25 tip.

After they checked in, the clerk at the concierge explained to them in Japanese, "Okay, Ms. Hiiragi and Ms. Takara, your suite is on the sixth floor", then she handed them their key. "**Arigato gozaimasu**", Tsukasa and Miyuki answered in unison. "**Do itashimashite**", the clerk replied back, waving to them as the went up the elevator.

When they got to their suite, they used the key to open the door. "Oh my! This suite is beautiful isn't it, Tsukasa-san?", Miyuki asked. "It sure is! This is the most beautiful hotel room I've ever seen!", Tsukasa agreed. "My mother and father told me that they stayed in this hotel for their second honeymoon back in the summer of 2009", Miyuki explained. "Well, apparently your mom and dad, whoops, I mean, _our _mom and dad, have really good tastes", Tsukasa told her.

"You're right, Tsukasa-san. I do apologize for my mistake.", Miyuki said bowing her head. "Don't worry, Yuki-chan. Everyone makes a mistake once in a while", Tsukasa assured her, "I make mistakes all the time and I've turned out fine". "Well, in that case, let's see what our suite has to offer", Miyuki declared. "Good idea. I like the way you think.", Tsukasa agreed.

So with that, Tsukasa and Miyuki took a look around their suite. The first thing that they noticed was that their suite had a beautiful view of **Central Park**. They couldn't see it too well because it was so dark, but they knew it was there. "Look at the view, Yuki-chan!", Tsukasa gushed, "We can't really see it right now but it's beautiful". "It _is_ a wonderful sight, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki agreed, "Even if we can barely see the park at the moment".

"There's even a telescope on the table", Tsukasa noted. "You're right. We'll have to use it sometime during the week", Miyuki told her. They also took a look at the suite's bathroom. "Is that marble in our bathroom?", Tsukasa asked. "Yes, apparently so", Miyuki explained, "And look, the deep soaking bathtub and the glass enclosed shower are seperate". "You don't see that in bathrooms very often", Tsukasa stated. "You're right, it's not very common", Miyuki agreed.

A few minutes later, the girls came out of the bathroom with their pajamas on. Both had on a one piece negligee and matching slippers. The only difference was that Tsukasa's was in pink and Miyuki's was in purple. Additionally, they were both wearing the sateen plush cotton bathrobes that the hotel really does provide to its guests.

They went into the bedroom and crawled into their bed, exhausted from the day they had endeavored. "Good night, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa whispered to her wife. "Good night, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki whispered back to her wife. After one more good night kiss they fell asleep holding each other's hand. One could suffer a massive nosebleed if they were too see how cute they looked sleeping together.

* * *

><p><strong>Sunday September 11, 2011, 7:30 am<strong>

The next morning, Tsukasa and Miyuki woke up early so they could get a head start on exploring the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. After they had gotten cleaned up and gotten dressed the girls went downstairs to the lobby. Tsukasa wore a pink T-shirt, a blue mini skirt, white thigh high nylons and black high heeled pumps. Miyuki wore a red short sleeved blouse, a purple knee length skirt, black nylon tights and white dress shoes.

"Well, Yuki-chan, are you ready to go?", Tsukasa asked. "Almost, Tsukasa-san. I just have to check the weather in the newspaper", Miyuki told her. She took at look at a complimentary copy of **The New York Times**, and scanned through it. "Well, it looks like it might rain later", Miyuki explained, "So we should bring our umbrellas". "Good idea", Tsukasa agreed, "No use in us getting wet when he have umbrellas".

So after a quick trip back to their 6th floor suite, they came back down with umbrellas in hand and exited. By the way, the girls had already learned how to speak and read English while they were still at the University of Tokyo. This explains how they are able to read an American newspaper without a problem.

Throughout the day, they managed to see the most of the big sights in and around the Midtown district, including Times Square and the **Chrysler Building**. Then came the **Empire State Building**. For that, the girls climbed the 1,576 stairs up to the observation deck on the 86th floor.

"Wow, that was a huge climb", Tsukasa sputtered, trying to catch her breath. "Yes, it was. But just look at the view we have", Miyuki replied equally out of breath. They were blown away by the magnificent 360 degree views of the city that they had.

"This view is just amazing isn't it, Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa wondered. "It definitely is, Tsukasa-san. A magnificent view", Miyuki agreed. After about a half hour there and a few snapshots, they left and went back down to the ground level. And to conclude the day, they did quite a bit of walking around Central Park admiring the scenery.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00 pm<strong>

Later that night, back at their hotel and after having a late dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Tsukasa and Miyuki stumbled back into their suite, tired out from a long day of walking around the Big Apple. "Wow, am I tired out", Tsukasa sighed, plopping onto the couch, "But it was fun though". "Yes, it was a lot of fun seeing some of the sights", Miyuki agreed, sitting herself down in the chair.

"I did learn one thing, though", Tsukasa chimed in. "What's that?", Miyuki wondered. "If you're going to be doing a lot of walking, don't wear 3 inch stilletto heels", Tsukasa explained as she removed her high heels. "Wait a minute, I have an idea", Miyuki responded as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to her wife.

She then placed Tsukasa's legs onto her lap and began to apply gentle yet firm pressure onto her soles. "Oooh, that feels nice", Tsukasa sighed. "Does that feel better, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki asked. "Oh yes, thank you Yuki-chan", Tsukasa replied. "I'm glad to hear that", Miyuki said to her. With that, Tsukasa put her hands behind her head and let out another sigh.

At one point, Miyuki gently removed Tsukasa's nylon stockings, not exactly an easy task because the sweat from her soles was making the stockings slip and stick. Once she got them off, she began working in between the toes. "Wow. Yuki-chan, this feels really good", Tsukasa yawned as she closed her eyes. "Anything for the love of my life", Miyuki explained.

She spent about a half hour total working on the balls of the foot, the soles, and the ankles. Not long after finishing, Miyuki noticed that Tsukasa had fallen asleep during the massage. So she decided to get her pajamas on. She came back out a few minutes later and gently lifted her wife up and placed her on the mattress in the bedroom.

Miyuki then climbed into the bed right next to Tsukasa, kissed her gently on the forehead and whispered, "Good night, Tsukasa-san". With that, she turned off the light and she soon fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **January 31, 2012**

**Brooklyn Bridge **- one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Construction began on January 3, 1870 and after 13 years, it was opened to the public on May 24, 1883. At a span of 1,595.5 feet, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1903.

The staff at the Central Park Ritz Carlton Hotel is mutlilingual, though I don't know exactly what languages they speak, though I'm pretty sure that at least one staff member speaks Japanese.

**Arigato gozaimasu **- literally "Thank you very much" in Japanese.

**Do itashimashite **- literally, "You're welcome" in Japanese.

The Parkview Suite that Tsukasa and Miyuki stayed in is a 790 square foot suite that holds 1 bedroom and 1 and a half bathrooms, with fantastic views of Central Park. It also features among other things, a 27 inch flat screen TV, DVD player, a CD stereo...we could go on for hours. It goes for a whopping $1,695 per night as of January 2012.

**Central Park **- a public park located in the center of Manhattan. The 845 acre park was opened to the public way back in 1857. It is 2.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide. Central Park attracts anywhere from 35 million to 38 million visitors every single year, and is a United States National Historic Landmark.

**The New York Times **- founded way back on September 18, 1851, it is the third most circulated newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 916,911 copies and a Sunday circulation of 1,339,462 copies. Only USA Today and The Wall Street Journal circulate more copies on a daily basis. The New York Times has also been the recipient of 106 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization.

**Chrysler Building **- an Art Deco style skyscraper located in the Turtle Bay area of Manhattan at the intersections of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at 1,047 feet tall, it was the tallest building in the world from May 27, 1930 until April 30, 1931.

**Empire State Building **- an Art Deco style landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon, located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet and including its spire, stands at 1,454 feet. It was the tallest building in the world for 41 years, from 1931 until 1972.


	15. New York Part 3

Note: This chapter will continue the Tsukasa and Miyuki honeymoon arc. Also we will begin to speed up the pace once again, however slightly. I apologize for the fact that this chapter took so long to get up. I hope you all enjoy it. There will be two more chapters in this arc. I am aware I may have gone a bit overboard with the facts in this chapter. Next chapter won't be so heavy on facts. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter regardless of this.

* * *

><p><strong>Monday September 12, 2011, 7:15 am<strong>

The next day was of course Monday, and it was again another nice day in New York City. In their suite, Tsukasa and Miyuki were sitting on their bed watching the morning news to see what the weather would be like. "And the weather for today will be sunny but pretty humid with a high temperature of around 80 degrees", the meterologist on the TV announced. "It looks like it's going to be another nice day", Tsukasa noted. "It certainly does look that way", Miyuki agreed. And with that, they went to get cleaned up and to get dressed.

By 8:00, Tsukasa and Miyuki were all dressed, cleaned up and ready to go. The former girl wore a yellow T-shirt, dark green knee-length shorts, gray knee-high socks, and white sneakers. The latter girl wore a pink short sleeved blouse, a dark red knee length skirt, brown nylon stockings, and blue dress shoes.

"Are you ready, Tsukasa-san?", Miyuki asked. "I sure am, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa confirmed, "So what's on our agenda today?". "Well, after we have breakfast, our first stop is the **National September 11th Memorial **to pay our respects", Miyuki told her, "It was dedicated yesterday, but opens to the public today" "That's right, yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the attacks", Tsukasa remembered. Both girls looked rather solemn upon realizing this. After a few minutes of silence, they headed out of the hotel.

* * *

><p><strong>8:15 am<strong>

So anyway, time to get back to the story. Tsukasa and Miyuki stepped into a taxi, which took them the 3.7 miles to the **Bubby's Pie Company **restaurant on Hudson Street. When they pulled to a stop, they paid the driver and got out. "Well, this must be the place, 120 Hudson Street", Tsukasa noted. "Mother and Father said that they make some of the best pies around", Miyuki added.

With that they went into the building. After about 30 minutes of waiting at a table, they finally got their food, two orders of the restaurant's signature breakfast to be washed down with two glasses of grapefruit juice. This consisted of two eggs any style, either homefries or grits, a choice of housemade bacon, housemade sausage or scrapple, and a winter fruit cup.

"Wow, this thing sure is big!", Tsukasa giggled. "It certainly is very large", Miyuki agreed. "It takes up nearly the whole plate", Tsukasa added. "And the plate itself is quite large", Miyuki noted. It took them quite a while to finish the whole thing. Once they paid the bill, which accounted to about $42, they walked out of the building.

"I have an idea, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa chimed. "What is your idea, Tsukasa-san?", Miyuki wondered. "Instead of taking the bus, why don't we walk to the memorial?", Tsukasa suggested. "That sounds like a really good idea", Miyuki replied. "Besides it will give us a chance to burn off some calories. Besides I could try out my pedometer to see how far we go", Tsukasa added. "Yes, it will. I'll time us with my stopwatch to see how long we've walked.", Miyuki agreed. So with that, they walked about 500 feet down Hudson Street then made a left onto Greenwich Street.

* * *

><p><strong>9:30 am<strong>

After a little while, Tsukasa and Miyuki reached the memorial. "Well how long did it take us, Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa asked. "Well, Tsukasa-san, it took us exactly 17 minutes to walk from the restaurant to the memorial", Miyuki noted looking at her stopwatch. "And we've traveled about nine tenths of a mile", she continued turning to her pedometer. "Not bad, not bad at all", her wife explained.

As they walked around the two large memorial pools, the girls noticed that the names of the victims were inscribed on the sides. "Wow, a lot of people lost their lives that day", Tsukasa stated sadly. "Two thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven people to be exact", Miyuki replied quietly. At this point, both Tsukasa and Miyuki were close to tears.

"Was anyone outside the United States killed in the attack?", Tsukasa asked. "Sadly, yes. Four hundred and fifty-five people from fifty-eight countries", Miyuki told her, "Twenty four of the victims were from Japan". "I am glad that they caught the man who was responsible for the attacks", Tsukasa sighed, "But it still hurts knowing so many lost their lives". "I know what you mean", Miyuki agreed, "It is a little bittersweet, knowing that it took so long to get him".

Just then they looked up and saw a not finished shell of a building looming hundreds of feet above them. "What is that, Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa wondered. "Oh well, Tsukasa-san, that is going to be the **Freedom Tower**", Miyuki explained to her, "At least when its finished anyway". "I'm sure that when it's finished, that it'll be a beautiful building", Tsukasa contemplated. "Yes, it is good to see that the city has not given up hope", Miyuki answered back. They felt a glimmer of hope themselves looking at the not yet finished building.

* * *

><p><strong>1:15 pm<strong>

Later that day, after exploring the **World Financial Center**, the **New York Stock Exchange**, and the **Woolworth Building**, the girls went to the southern tip of Manhattan to look around **Battery Park**. "The weather sure is beautiful", Tsukasa noted. "Yes, it certainly is", Miyuki agreed, "A good time to sit in the park and walk around".

"I have a question though", Tsukasa replied, "Why do they call this Battery Park?". "Well, I think they call it that because there used to be artillery batteries here a long time ago", Miyuki explained to her. "Oh so that's why they call it that", Tsukasa replied. "Father told that to me when he and Mother came back from New York City", Miyuki told her.

"There sure are a lot of couples here", Tsukasa noticed. "Yes, there certainly are quite a few", Miyuki replied. "I'm sure a lot of them love each other very much", Tsukasa added. "Just like we love each other", Miyuki agreed, "I love you so much, Tsukasa-san". "And I love you too, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa answered back. And with that, the two moe airheads

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday September 13, 2011, 8:00 am<strong>

The next day was another nice day in New York City, so Tsukasa and Miyuki decided to walk around the city instead of taking the taxis or the buses. After they had breakfast in their suite, the girls went outside to enjoy another day. The older girl wore a blue dress with a knee length skirt, black nylons and white dress shoes. The younger girl wore a red dress with a mid thigh length skirt, white nylons and black dress shoes.

"So what are we going to do today, Yuki-chan?", Tsukasa asked. "Well, Tsukasa-san, today we're going to walk around the Midtown, Soho, Lower East Side and Greenwich Village districts to explore the sights", Miyuki answered. "That sounds like a good idea", Tsukasa agreed. "I'm really glad you agree on this", Miyuki told her. "So am I, I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun today", Tsukasa replied back. "I'm sure we'll have fun as well", Miyuki responded.

"Where are we headed first?", Tsukasa wondered. "Well, I was thinking that we would first visit **Grand Central Terminal** then move on to the **New York Public Library**", Miyuki explained to her. "That sounds like a lot of fun", Tsukasa replied back. "Then after that we could visit **Rockefeller Center** and **Washington Square Park**", Miyuki added. "That is a really good idea", Tsukasa agreed. So with that, they went off to explore.

* * *

><p><strong>7:00 pm<strong>

Later that night, Tsukasa and Miyuki decided to have dinner at one of New York's most famous restaurants. "Well, here it is, **Katz's Delicatessen**", Miyuki announced. "It looks like a really popular place", Tsukasa noticed. "It is. The amount of food they go through in astounding", Miyuki told her. "Then it must be really good food then", Tsukasa concluded. And with that said, they went in, and after about 45 minutes waiting for a table, they sat down.

To make it a true New York experience, they ordered 2 of Katz's famous pastrami sandwiches, with steak fries, and washed down with 2 Dr. Brown's Cream Sodas. When the sandwiches came, they were amazed by the size of them. "Wow, I can barely get my mouth around it", Tsukasa commented. "I know what you mean, each one can feed two people", Miyuki responded. It took about 25 minutes for them to finish their plates.

After they had dinner, they ordered two slices of New York style cheesecake with cherry topping to finish off their visit. "I've never had a cheesecake before, but now that I've tried it, it's really good", Tuskasa stated. "I myself have had cheesecake before, but never a true New York style cheesecake", Miyuki replied. The two young lovers fed each other their own cheesecakes using their forks. After they paid the bill, they went outside on the corner and kissed each other gently.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **February 14, 2012 **(Happy Valentine's Day!)

**National September 11th Memorial **- the principal memorial commemorating the September 11th attacks. Located at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, it consists of a forest of trees and two large square memorial pools in the center, signifying where the Twin Towers once stood. It opened to the public on September 12, 2011.

**Bubby's Pie Company - **located at 120 Hudson Street in 1990 in the TriBeca district. Between Tuesday and Sunday, the restaurant is open 24 hours. On Monday it closes at midnight. Bubby's makes some of the best comfort food in New York City, and it is served in generous portions, if a bit overpriced.

**Freedom Tower (One World Trade Center) **- the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex. When it is completed, the roof of the top floor will reach 1,368 feet. The building's 408 foot radio antenna will bring its height to 1,776 feet, a figure symbolic to the year that America declared its independence. The building is expected to top out this spring, completed by this December, and be opened by April of next year.

**Winter Garden Atrium **- a 10 story glass vaulted pavillion located on Vesey Street in the World Financial Center. Opened in 1988 and reopened in 2002 after repairing severe damage obtained on September 11th, it houses various plants, trees and flowers, as well as home to several shops and restaurants.

**New York Stock Exchange **- located at 11 Wall Street, it is a stock exchange in a Beaux Arts temple style building. It was a declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978, but is no longer open to the public for tours.

**Woolworth Building **- erected in 1913, this beautiful structure is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City and a prime example of Neo-Gothic architecture. At 792 feet in height, it was the world's tallest building for 17 years, until 1930. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

**Battery Park **- a 25 acre public park located on the southern tip of Manhattan. It is named after artillery batteries that were there in the city's early years.

**Grand Central Terminal **- a well known train and commuter rail station located in Midtown Manhattan. It opened in 1903, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and now also houses several shops and restaurants. As of 2011, the station attracts 21.6 million visitors per year.

**New York Public Library **- established in 1895 and built in 1908, it is a public library that was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965. It houses 16 million volumes making it the third biggest public library in the United States.

**Rockefeller Center **- a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st Streets in Midtown Manhattan. It includes Radio City Music Hall, the GE Building and NBC Studios.

**Washington Square Park **- created in 1871, it is a 9.75 acre public park located in Greenwich Village at the foot of Fifth Avenue, and is one of the best known of New York City's public parks.

**Katz's Delicatessen **- founded way back in 1888, Katz's is an EXTREMELY popular New York City landmark known for its pastrami sandwiches and their hot dogs. Each week, it goes through 10,000 pounds of pastrami, 5,000 pounds of corned beef, 2,000 pounds of salami, and 12,000 hot dogs.


	16. New York Part 4

Note: As you all probably know, this chapter will continue on with the Tsukasa and Miyuki honeymoon arc. This arc will conclude in the next chapter, Chapter 17. And once again we will continue the pace of roughly 2 days of activity per chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Wednesday September 14th, 6:30 am<strong>

On Wednesday morning, Tsukasa and Miyuki were in their suite looking at the **The New York Post** newspaper, checking the weather for today. It read "Mostly sunny today, with a high temperature of about 85 degrees". "Another nice day today", Miyuki noted. "Yes a very nice day", Tsukasa agreed. "So Tsukasa-san, what do you think we should do today?", Miyuki asked. "Well, Yuki-chan, I was thinking that we'd visit **Chelsea Piers**, and the **Statue of Liberty**", Tsukasa suggested. "That sounds like a good idea", Miyuki answered. "Then for the rest of the day we could visit **Coney Island**", Tsukasa continued, "I've heard they have a lot of things down there".

So with that, the girls got ready to go. By 7:00 they were outside of the hotel all dressed and ready to go. Tsukasa wore a light purple tanktop, light blue shorts and pink strap on sandals. Miyuki wore a light yellow short sleeved blouse, a light green skirt and brown strap on sandals. "Now do we have everything before we go?", Miyuki asked. "Let's check and make sure", Tsukasa suggested, looking in the bags.

Miyuki: "Do we have our umbrellas?"

Tsukasa: "Yeah we do."

Miyuki: "What about sunscreen?"

Tsukasa: "We have that too."

Miyuki: "How about our beach towels?"

Tsukasa: "They're in here too."

Miyuki: "Our sun hats?"

Tsukasa: "Both in here."

Miyuki: "Our pairs of sunglasses?"

Tsukasa: "We have those."

Miyuki: "What about our portable cameras?"

Tsukasa: "Both the digital photo and the video are in here too."

Miyuki: "Most importantly, do we have spending money?"

Tsukasa: "Definitely, we have about 500 American dollars in here."

"Good we have everything then", Miyuki sighed in relief. "Yep we sure do", Tsukasa told her, "I made sure everything was in here before we left". And with that, they started walking.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00 am<strong>

After stopping for breakfast somewhere, the girls made it to the Chelsea Piers complex. The first thing they did was go to the skating rink at Pier 61 just off of 23rd Street. They had booked a 50 minute private freestyle session which cost them a total of $66. They had a lot of fun skating. However, Tsukasa fell on her bottom once or twice. Luckily, Miyuki was right there to help lift her back up.

"Thank you, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa told her wife. "Not a problem, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki explained, "I'm always happy to help you". "I haven't gone ice skating in a really long time", Tsukasa admitted, "So I'm a little rusty at it". "Oh that's all right, it just takes time and practice", Miyuki assured her wife.

After their session at the ice rink ended, Tsukasa and Miyuki then walked over to the bowling alley between Pier 59 and Pier 60 on 23rd Street. It opened at 9 am, so the girls were the first customers of the day. They bowled 2 games, and each time by some weird coincidence, they scored exactly the same both times. They scored 109 for the first game and 123 for the second time.

"Well Yuki-chan, isn't this a weird coincidence?", Tsukasa adknowledged. "It seems so, Tsukasa-san, usually you score higher than me", Miyuki agreed. "And don't forget that we don't usually score very high in bowling anyway", Tsukasa explained. "That fact is also quite true", Miyuki empathized. And with that, they paid the bill and they walked out. By now, it was about 9:30.

* * *

><p><strong>10:00 am<strong>

After they left, Tsukasa and Miyuki then hailed another taxi which drove them the 3.3 miles to the **Whitehall Terminal**. From there, they boarded the 10:00 ride on the **Staten Island Ferry**, which took them around the Statue of Liberty, **Ellis Island**, and Lower Manhattan. They made sure to take plenty of pictures as they passed.

Later on they took another ferry to Liberty Island itself. That way they could see the Statue of Liberty up close and personal. They even got to go inside and scale the stairs to the statue's crown. From there, they got a beautiful view of New York City.

"Wow, look at this view Yuki-chan! It's incredible!", Tsukasa exclaimed. "You're right, Tsukasa-san. It is quite impressive.", Miyuki agreed. "I have to get a picture of this!", Tsukasa called out while pulling out the digital camera. "Good idea, but be very careful not to drop it", Miyuki told her, while taking out the video camera. Luckily, they managed to be careful enough not to drop either the digital camera or the video camera.

* * *

><p><strong>12:00 pm<strong>

Later on that day, the girls arrived at Coney Island. They were a little overwhelmed when they got in. I'm sure we all would be if we saw a ton of amusement parks all around us. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway getting back to the story.

"It certainly is festive around here", Miyuki adknowledged. "It sure is. It's like an outdoor carnival!", Tsukasa agreed. "I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun here today", Miyuki explained. "We sure are going to have fun", Tsukasa empathized.

They did have a lot of fun, having rode on quite a few of the rides. One of them was a wooden roller coaster known as the Cyclone. Another was a ferris wheel called the Wonder Wheel. The girls then tried out some of the game stands. At one of them, Tsukasa managed to win (after 3 or 4 tries) a giant stuffed teddy bear which she gave to Miyuki.

"Here you go Yuki-chan! This is for you!", Tsukasa said proudly. "Oh thank you, Tsukasa-san! It's just what I wanted!", Miyuki gushed happily, hugging the bear and then her wife. "I wanted to win it for you", Tsukasa told her. "And I'm greatful for it", Miyuki exclaimed. They kissed each other on the lips and rubbed each other's little noses together.

* * *

><p><strong>4:00 pm<strong>

Later on, the girls decided to stop at a little hot dog joint at the corner of Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue. "Well here it is Yuki-chan. **Nathan's Famous**", Tsukasa announced. "It most certainly is, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki replied, "There are signs all over the place". After waiting in line for nearly a half hour, the girls made it to the register. They ordered 2 hot dogs with the works, 2 bacon cheeseburgers, crinkle cut fries, onion rings, and 2 medium size lemonades.

Since they couldn't find a table they decided to walk back down to the beach to eat. While they ate, they could admire the views of the waves washing over the sand. "It's so beautiful isn't it?", Tsukasa asked. "It certainly is beautiful", Miyuki answered. They then looked at each other and whispered, "But still not quite as beautiful as you", to each other.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday September 15th, 12:00 pm<strong>

After doing some major shopping at some of New York City's most famous stores, such as **Macy's** and **Saks Fifth Avenue**, Tsukasa and Miyuki returned to the Ritz-Carlton with their arms full of bags. The former wore a red T-shirt, green shorts and white dress shoes. The latter wore a pink short sleeved blouse, purple skirt, and black dress shoes.

Since it was raining outside, they couldn't do much walking. So they hit the hotel's fitness center to do some working out. And then after about a hour there, they went down to the hotel's **La Prairie** spa for their 2:00 pm appointment, making sure to arrive early so they could have the maximum amount of time.

They had ordered 2 of the spa's Pure Gold Radiance facials (90 minutes, $310 each), 2 of the Caviar Luxe manicures (45 minutes, $75 each), and 2 of the spa's Caviar Luxe pedicures (75 minutes, $115 each). Obviously they were trying to get as relaxed as they could. And that they did, as when their session ended at 5:30 pm, they had fallen asleep and needed to be woken up by the attendants.

"Thank you very much", Tsukasa said to them. "Yes, that was quite an experience", Miyuki added. They had already paid the $1,000 bill in advance. I know that sounds like a lot, but it's the Ritz-Carlton where things are much more expensive. But regardless they gave them a $200 tip due to really good service. "Thank you for your patronage, ladies", one of them called out. "It was well worth the money", Tsukasa noted. "You all know a lot of what you do", Miyuki agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm<strong>

So after that, Tsukasa and Miyuki decided to go the hotel's **Star Lounge **for dinner that night. They ordered 2 shrimp cocktails ($25 each), and the rigatoni bolognese ($28) and the red wine braised short ribs ($34) to share with each other. For dessert, the girls ordered apple pie a la mode and a fresh baked cookie plate ($15 each). And to top it all off, they ordered 2 of the Star Lounge's signature cocktails ($20 each).

Now before you ask, they're both of legal American age for drinking as Tsukasa was 22 years, 2 months and 8 days old, while Miyuki was 21 years, 10 months and 21 days old. Well, it wasn't long before the alcohol had begun to take effect. After they paid the bill which amounted to $182, the girls then stumbled out of the lounge and back to their suite, where they of course made passionate love in the bed.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **February 24, 2012**

**The New York Post **- one of the oldest published newspapers in the United States, being established way back on November 16, 1801 as the New York Evening Post. Today it is the seventh largest newspaper in the U.S. with a daily circulation of 525,004 as of April 2010. It's well known for its sports section and its sensational headlines.

**Chelsea Piers **- a series of piers in the Chelsea district on the west side of Manhattan. They are currently being used as the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment complex. It includes film and TV production facilities, a health club, a day spa, the city's largest gymnastics training center, two basketball courts, fields for indoor lacrosse and soccer, and much much more.

**Statue of Liberty **- a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, the statue was a gift to America from France. It is an icon of freedom as well as an icon of the United States. It was declared a National Monument on October 15, 1924, and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.

**Coney Island** - located on a penisula in southern Brooklyn, it is best known as the site of amusement parks. It also is home to Brighton Beach, The New York Aquarium, and KeySpan Park, home of the minor league team the Brooklyn Cyclones.

**Whitehall Terminal **- the terminal used by the Staten Island Ferry. It is located at 4 South Street and Whitehall Avenue in the South Ferry area of Lower Manhattan. It was originally built in 1907, reconstructed in 1954, and completely renovated in 2005.

**Staten Island Ferry **- a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. Today anywhere from five to eight ferry boats transport 75,000 passengers per day on a 5.2 mile run between Manhattan and Staten Island that takes about 25 minutes each way. Service is provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And the best part is that you can ride the Staten Island Ferry free of charge.

**Ellis Island **- an island in New York Harbor. It was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the country's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. It was named part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965 and has hosted an immigration museum since 1990. Interestingly, a 1998 United States Supreme Court decision found much of the island to be part of Jersey City, New Jersey.

**Nathan's Famous **- a New York City based hot dog chain. The original restaurant stands at the corner of Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island and has seen HUGE business ever since the day it opened way back in 1916. Today it has over 1,400 stores in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and 17 foreign countries. It is known around the world for its hot dogs as well as its unusual menu selections, such as the chow mein sandwich.

**Macy's **- a U.S. chain of mid to high range department stores. Its flagship location is located in Herald Square in Manhattan. The 2.15 million square foot building (the largest department store in the world until 2009) was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Macy's, which was founded in 1858, now has 805 locations throughout the United States.

**Saks Fifth Avenue **- a luxury specialty store with its flagship store located on, where else, Fifth Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan. The company, which was founded in 1888, has more than 100 stores worldwide.

**La Prairie **- the spa at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park hotel. And they do offer those services and more in real life.

**Star Lounge **- the lounge at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park hotel. It is open daily from 6:00 am to midnight. It's world famous Afternoon Tea is served starting at 2:30 pm.


	17. New York Part 5

Note: This chapter concludes the Tsukasa and Miyuki honeymoon arc. Of course I still have some work to do, especially now with Konata and Kagami starting a family, and I still have to work Yutaka and Minami in at some point.

Another Note: To all of you who were unhappy with the over reliance on little facts over the last two chapters, I apologize to you all. I just wanted to put NYC in the best light possible so you might want to vacation there one day. Anyway, in this chapter, I'm going to try my hardest to list as few facts as I can and get more actual story in. In addition, a new character will be introduced in this chapter.

One final note: I apologize for the fact that this chapter took so long to make and upload. I hope that you all enjoy Chapter 17 regardless. Also I apologize if this chapter is shorter than the last few chapters.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday September 16th, 6:30 am<strong>

"Well, Yuki-chan. We only have two more days before we have to head back to Japan", Tsukasa noted. "Exactly right, Tsukasa-san. So we'll have to get in as much of the remaining sights as we can", Miyuki agreed. So with that, they hurried up and got cleaned up and then got dressed and by 7:15, they were down at the lobby. The older and shorter girl wore a green T-shirt, blue jeans, and gray sneakers. The younger and taller girl wore a yellow short sleeved blouse, a green skirt and white sneakers. After having a quick breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, the girls were all ready and raring to go out and have fun.

"Are you ready to head out, Tsukasa-san?", Miyuki asked. "I sure am, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa confirmed. "So what are we going to do today?", Miyuki wondered. "Well, I was thinking we would walk through Central Park one more time and maybe rent us some bikes", Tsukasa told her. "That sounds like a good idea", Miyuki concurred. "Then I was thinking we would explore some of New York City's museums", Tsukasa continued. "Another really good idea", Miyuki replied. "So what are we waiting for, let's get going", Tsukasa concluded. And with that, they walked down the street to find a place where they could rent a couple of bikes.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00 am<strong>

It didn't take very long for Tsukasa and Miyuki to find a bike rental shop. After they paid the owner of the shop to rent the bikes, they went outside the shop. "Well, let's go over our checklist shall we", Tsukasa suggested. "That's a very good idea", Miyuki agreed.

Tsukasa: "Let's see, do we have our helmets?"

Miyuki: "On our heads already".

Tsukasa: "What about our elbow pads?"

Miyuki: "They're already in our backpacks".

Tsukasa: "How about our knee pads?"

Miyuki: "Those are here too".

Tsukasa: "Do we have our water bottles?"

Miyuki: "We definitely have those".

Tsukasa: "And finally, what abbout our lunchboxes?"

Miyuki: "They're in our backpacks as well".

"Okay, good, so we have everything we need", Tsukasa adknowledged. "Yes, we certainly do have everything", Miyuki empathized. "So shall we move forward on our little journey?", Tsukasa questioned, with the cutest little smile on her face. "I'm ready to move forward whenever you're ready", Miyuki responded, with an equally cute smile on her face. And with that, they put on their pads, got on the bikes and began moving towards Central Park.

* * *

><p><strong>8:30 am<strong>

A little while later, Tsukasa and Miyuki were riding their bikes through Central Park. "Central Park certainly is beautiful at this time of year", Tsukasa noted. "Yes it certainly is a beautiful sight", Miyuki concurred. In fact it was apparently so beautiful that the girls lost concentration on the path and they ended up hitting a pothole and fell off their bikes and into a couple of bushes.

"Are you all right, Tsukasa-san?", Miyuki asked. "Don't worry Yuki-chan, I'm all right", Tsukasa assured her, "Are you all right?". "Yes, I'm fine as well", Miyuki answered back. "It's a good thing that we had our helmets on", Tsukasa adknowledged. "Yes it certainly is a good thing, as helmets help prevent a head injury", Miyuki agreed. Suddenly, they heard a young girl shout, "Help! Someone just stole my purse!". They quickly got on their bikes and followed the perp. Luckily he wasn't very fast and the fact that he was out of shape made it easier for the girls to catch him.

While they held the perp down, the young girl called 911. The police got there within 5 minutes of being called, and the man was quickly hauled away in a squad car, complaining about how his plan had been foiled by a couple of girls. "The guys in prison are never gonna let me live this down!", he whined as the officer closed the door, and another officer handed the girl her purse. After the police left, she walked over to Tsukasa and Miyuki to thank them for helping her.

"Thank you so much, you two", she gushed. "It's no problem at all", Tsukasa told her. "We just felt like we had to do something", Miyuki added. "By the way, what is your name?", Tsukasa wondered. "My name is Tomoyo Yoshida (吉田知世)", the girl said with a blush on her face, "I came her all the way from Japan". "What a coincidence! We came here from Japan as well", Miyuki explained. "Oh really? What part of Japan?", Tomoyo asked, "I came from Kyoto". "Another coincidence. We came from Kyoto too", Tsukasa answered. "Well, well, what a small world we live in", Tomoyo noted. Tsukasa and Miyuki nodded yes in reply. After a little while longer talking, the three girls went their seperate ways, having made new friends. Luckily for them, even though it was the first time the three girls saw each other it would not be their last.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday September 17th, 6:00 pm<strong>

The following night, Tsukasa and Miyuki boarded the **Atlantica in New York **for a dinner cruise to wrap up their honeymoon. Tsukasa had on a pink short sleeved blouse, a red dress, white nylons, and red high heeled pumps. Miyuki had on an orange short sleeved blouse, a pink dress, grey nylons, and pink high heeled pumps. "Well this is the ship", Tsukasa noted. "It certainly is", Miyuki added. "Yoo-hoo! Wait up!", a young girl's voice shouted behind them. They turned around and saw their new friend Tomoyo running towards them. Tomoyo had on a white short sleeved blouse, purple dress, black thigh high stockings, and white high heeled pumps.

"Hi there, you two", she said. "Oh hi there, Tomoyo!", Tsukasa greeted, waving her arm. "Greetings, Tomoyo-san", Miyuki replied. "So how are you guys on this fine late summer's evening", Tomoyo asked. "We're fine, thank you very much", Tsukasa and Miyuki replied together. "So what did you guys do today?", Tomoyo wondered.

"We mostly visited the museums", Tsukasa told her. "Oh really, which ones?", Tomoyo questioned. "The **Metropolitan Museum of Art**, the **Museum of Television and Radio **and the **Skyscraper Museum**", Miyuki explained. "I've been to all of those, and they're fun", Tomoyo commented. Suddenly, they heard the last boarding call, and the three girls rushed on board the boat.

* * *

><p><strong>7:00 pm<strong>

A little while later, the girls were sitting at a table. Tsukasa and Miyuki were explaining to Tomoyo on how they became a couple. "Oh so you guys were dating for like four years?", Tomoyo asked. "Yes, that's exactly right", Miyuki answered. "And then you two got engaged back in March and you got married last week?", Tomoyo wondered. "Yep, and it was the happiest day of our lives", Tsukasa explained. "Wow, that's quite a story you girls have!", Tomoyo exclaimed.

It proved to be a memorable cruise. After having dinner (a gourmet buffet), the girls went down to the sitting room on the ship. As they were listening to the ship's DJ, the three girls took out their cameras and took pictures of the Manhattan skyline as the ship steamed past. "Oh boy, I don't think I'm ever going to forget this honeymoon, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa commented. "I don't believe I'll ever forget this past week either, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki concurred.

And with that, under the light of the moon, the two young lovers kissed. However, the moment was soiled a bit by an eager photographer. Just before their lips unlocked, Tsukasa and Miyuki noticed a bright flash to their left. They found out that it was Tomoyo who had taken the picture. "Sorry guys, I couldn't resist", she apologized, "You two just look so cute together". After hearing this, Tsukasa and Miyuki both turned a bright shade of red and in unison said, "Well, thank you, Tomoyo".

* * *

><p><strong>Sunday September 18th, 8:00 pm<strong>

After a week of fun in New York, Tsukasa and Miyuki returned to Kyoto by airplane. At around 8:00 pm their plane landed at Kansai International Airport (KIX) which is located on an artificial island. After they got off the plane, they saw that Tomoyo had gotten on the same flight back. At the same time, Konata and Kagami were waiting for them as they got inside the terminal itself.

"Hey guys, did you have fun over your honeymoon?", Konata asked. "Yes, we certainly did", Tsukasa told her. "We'll have to show you two the pictures tomorrow", Miyuki added. "Good idea I'm sure you two must be bushed", Kagami replied, "By the way, who's your friend?". "This is Tomoyo Yoshida", Tsukasa told her, "She's our new friend". "We met her on Friday and we've been friends ever since", Miyuki explained. "It's very nice to meet you two. Tsukas and Miyuk told me all about you guys", Tomoyo cut in.

"And get this she lives in Kyoto too", Tsukasa chimed in. "That means she could join us on our adventures", Miyuki interjected. "Well, welcome to the club, Tomoyo", Konata cheered shaking Tomoyo's hand. "We'll have to introduce you to the rest of our friends sometime", Kagami added. "I would love that very much", Tomoyo gushed. And after a few more minutes of talking, they then left the airport.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **March 8, 2012**

**Atlantica in New York **- a cruise liner in New York City that offers sightseeing cruises as well as lunch and dinner cruises. The only problem is that a 3 to 5 hour weekend dinner cruise can cost up to $300.45 USD.

**Metropolitan Museum of Art **- a world renowned art museum located at 5th Avenue and 82nd Street. It attracted 5.22 million visitors in 2011, making it the most visited art museum in the United States, and the 3rd most visited art museum in the world.

**Museum of Television and Radio** - now known as the Paley Center for Media. It opened in 1975 and is now a place to honor television, radio and other media and their places in history.

**Skyscraper Museum **- the only museum of its kind in the world. It opened on May 1, 1997, and it of course, is a museum about the skyscrapers. It's located in Battery Park City.

In the Next Chapter: Chapter 18 will start up the Konata and Kagami family arc, which will last until either Chapter 20 or Chapter 21.


	18. Mood Swings and Unexpected Meetings

Note: Now that I have completed the Tsukasa and Miyuki wedding/honeymoon arc and introduced a new supporting character, it's time to move on to bigger and better things. Like for instance, with this chapter, the Konata and Kagami family arc will start. At this point in the story, we are a little less than two months away from Konata's due date. This chapter will continue with the fun and not-so-fun stuff about this period. In case you're all wondering, Konata will most likely go into labor towards the end of Chapter 19, and she'll give birth sometime during Chapter 20.

Another note: I obtained the Japanese calligraphy symbols using Google Translate. I know it really wasn't neccessary and it may not be completely correct, but I felt like doing it anyways, just for the hell of it.

One last note: This chapter will also speed up the pace of the story quite a bit.

* * *

><p><strong>Monday September 19th, 3:00 pm<strong>

The following day, Konata was having one of her mood swings that is typical of pregnant women. She had gotten so angry (and by angry I mean throwing her manga all over the place and throwing chairs down onto the floor) that Kagami had to leave the apartment to let her wife blow off steam. Since they were running low on food anyway, she decided she might as well go to the supermarket while she was out.

"Okay, now let's look at the list", Kagami said to herself as she looked at the list.

**Shopping List (買い物リスト)**

Bread (パン)

Milk (ミルク)

Eggs (卵)

Edamame (枝豆)

Beef (牛肉)

Potatoes (ジャガイモ)

Onions (玉葱)

Bamboo (竹)

Mushrooms (キノコ)

Soy Sauce (しょうゆ)

Green Tea (緑茶)

Miso (味噌)

Sesame Paste (ごまペースト)

Mandarin Oranges (マンダリンオレンジ)

Melon Bread (メロンパン)

Swiss Roll Cake (スイスロールケーキ)

"Yep, it looks like everything we need is on this list", Kagami noted as she grabbed a carriage and walked into the supermarket.

**3:30 pm**

While Kagami was walking around the supermarket, she was really into her task. So much so, that in the meat section she accidentally collided with another carriage. "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't watch where I was going!", she sputtered. "Oh that's all right. You didn't mean it", a somewhat familiar voice rang out. Kagami looked up and saw Tomoyo, the girl that she had met yesterday, in front of her. "Tomoyo, is that you?", she asked. "Either that or I'm wearing the wrong panties", Tomoyo replied, "You're Kagami, right?". "Yes, that's right", Kagami answered back.

"Oh yeah, Tsukasa and Miyuki told me all about you and Konata-chan", Tomoyo told her. "You mean _everything_? Like how Konata and I are married?", Kagami asked, worried that Tomoyo might be offended. "Of course, but hey, I'm not offended by that", Tomoyo assured her, "To me, as long as two people truly love each other, it shouldn't matter if they're heterosexual or same sex". "Oh good, you don't know how glad I am to hear you say that", Kagami sighed in relief, "I was afraid you might be against same sex marriage".

"So anyway, what are you doing here, Kagami-chan?", Tomoyo wondered. "I'm just getting some groceries and giving Konata a chance to blow off some steam back at the house", Kagami answered. "Oh yeah, they told me that she was pregnant, and I've heard pregnant women get mood swings", Tomoyo replied, "By the way, when is the baby supposed to come?". "The doctor said sometime around mid-November", Kagami answered. "Well, I wish you two the best of luck", Tomoyo chimed in. "Well, thank you, Tomoyo", Kagami replied back.

As they waited in the checkout line, they noticed that Mariko and Chiyoko were at the magazine rack. Apparently, Chiyoko was trying to reach a magazine at the top which was about 2 meters off the ground. The problem was that she was so short (136 centimeters or only 4 feet and 5.5 inches) that she couldn't reach it, not even on her tiptoes. So Mariko took it upon herself to lift her friend up high enough to reach. "Thank you Mariko for helping me reach that magazine", Chiyoko told her friend. "You're welcome, Chiyoko. I always try and help people when I can", Mariko replied back.

"So which one of the girls is which?", Tomoyo asked. "Well, Mariko is the one with the short red hair and the brown eyes", Kagami told her, "And Chiyoko is the one with the long brown hair and the blue eyes". "Oh, now I get you", Tomoyo noted. "Hey guys!", Kagami called out. Mariko and Chiyoko turned and saw their friend standing in the checkout. "Oh hey there Kagami!", Mariko shouted. "Hello there, Kagami-san", Chiyoko greeted. "I'd like you two to meet someone", Kagami told them, waving her hand towards Tomoyo, who walked up rather nervously to Mariko and Chiyoko.

"My name is Tomoyo Yoshida. It's nice to meet you two", Tomoyo greeted the two girls in front of her. "Great to meet you, Tomoyo. I'm Mariko Aratani", Mariko called out eagerly. "And my name is Chiyoko Sakamoto. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tomoyo", Chiyoko explained. "I'm going to leave you three to get to know each other", Kagami answered as she put her bags in the carriage. "Oh Kagami, I'll probably be over later to check up on things", Tomoyo called out. "Okay Tomoyo, that sounds good", Kagami replied as she started walking back to the apartment.

**4:30 pm**

When Kagami got to the apartment, she thought to herself, "I really hope that Konata's not mad anymore". That being said, she quietly opened the door and put the groceries away, so as not to disturb her wife. When that was done, she plopped down on the couch. Suddenly she heard a door slam, and she thought, "Oh crap, she's probably still mad". But when Kagami turned around, she was quite surprised to see that Konata was crying and had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Kagami~n?", Konata whined. "What's wrong, Konata?", Kagami asked, clearly concerned. "I'm sorry Kagami, for yelling at you earlier", Konata sobbed. "Oh Konata, I know you didn't mean it", Kagami told her, wrapping her arms around her. "What's wrong with me? Do pregnant women always switch their moods so fast?", Konata asked. "Most of the time, they do", Kagami explained. "Kagami, can I tell you something?", Konata wondered. "Sure Konata, ask away", Kagami answered.

"Please don't leave me for someone else, Kagami!", Konata pleaded, "I simply can't live without you in my life!". "Oh don't worry, Konata", Kagami assured her, "I wouldn't even think of it". "Really?", Konata asked, wiping her eyes, "Do you really mean it?". "Of course I do", Kagami added, "I love you so much, Konata. I hope you know that". "And I love you too, Kagamin", Konata replied back. With that, the two young girls hugged each other and rocked gently on the couch. Not long after that they heard a knock at the door. Konata got up off the couch and answered the door.

"Hello there, Konata-chan", Tomoyo greeted, "I just came to check up on you and Kagami-chan". "Oh Tomoyo, please come in", Konata answered. "Hey, why are your eyes red?", Tomoyo wondered, "Have you been crying?". "Yeah, apparently I've been having one of those mood swings", Konata told her. "She asked me what was wrong with her", Kagami explained, "I told her mood swings are just a part of pregnancy".

"Yeah, when my mom was pregnant with my little sister Hiroko, she could go from happy to angry to sad to afraid to happy again all within a few hours", Tomoyo assured. "How old is your little sister?", Kagami asked. "Hiroko was born on May 18, 1993", Tomoyo answered, "So she's 18 years old". "I meant to ask, when were you born, Tomoyo?", Konata wondered. "Well, I was born on November 18, 1988", Tomoyo explained, "I'm going to be 23 this year".

"So you're not much older than us", Konata noted. "You two are both 22 right?", Tomoyo questioned. Konata and Kagami both nodded yes in reply.

* * *

><p><strong>Wednesday October 12th, 3:00 pm<strong>

A few weeks later, Konata and Kagami had gotten back from their weekly birthing class. The older and shorter girl wore a white T-shirt, blue shorts and black strap on sandals. The younger and taller girl wore a pink T-shirt, green skirt and brown dress shoes. "Hey Kagami, why do they call it a **Lamaze** class?", Konata asked. "Well Konata, I guess it was named after someone named Lamaze", Kagami told her. "Well, he or she certainly knew what they were doing", Konata chimed. "Yes, they must have", Kagami concurred.

"But I tell you standing up all day can really leave you with aching lower limbs", Konata lamented as she plopped onto the couch and removed her shoes. "Let me help you with that, my dear", Kagami answered as she sat down and placed her wife's legs on her lap. She then got out some lotion and began to rub it into her wife's little soles. "Oooh, yeah, that feels good", Konata purred softly as she closed her eyes. "I take it that feels better", Kagami wondered. "Oh yes, it sure does", Konata whispered. "I'm glad to hear that", Kagami answered as she continued working. She moved gradually from the soles to the toes to the heels to the ankles.

"Oh yes, right on my ankles if you don't mind", Konata sighed. "I'm right on it, my love", Kagami replied, "So how does that feel now?". "Very relaxing", Konata mumbled, yawning a bit. Kagami continued her upward progress moving from the ankles to the knees to the thighs. When she finished, she noticed that Konata had fallen asleep. So Kagami covered her wife with a blanket and put a pillow under her head, and kissed her on the forehead. She then walked over to the chair, pulled out a book and read until she fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday October 21st, 9:00 pm<strong>

A few days after that, Konata and Kagami got a phone call. They decided to put it on speakerphone. "Izumi-Hiiragi residence. Konata and Kagami here. State your business", Konata and Kagami answered in unison. "Howdy girls! It's me Tomoyo!", Tomoyo greeted. "Oh hi there Tomoyo", Konata replied. "What's going on Tomoyo?", Kagami asked. "Well, I auditioned for Ayaka and Nanami today, and they said that I'd make a great percussionist and assistant lead vocalist", Tomoyo answered. "Wow, that's great!", Konata exclaimed. "Congratulations, but what do you mean by assistant lead vocalist?", Kagami wondered.

"They said they managed to a gig on November 1st", Tomoyo explained, "We're going to be playing **Castle in the Sky**". "I've heard of that song", Konata chimed in.  
>"Isn't that a song with English lyrics?", Kagami asked. "Yes, and originally, Chiyoko was going to perform it by herself since she's the lead vocalist and she's fluent in English", Tomoyo continued, "But since the poor girl gets shy so easily, Mariko suggested that I audition for the second lead vocalist part".<p>

"Oh that's right", Konata remembered, "Chiyoko gets really nervous when she performs on stage". "I can see why Mariko would get you to audition", Kagami interjected, "But do you speak English, Tomoyo?". "Oh yes, in fact, not to brag, but I've been speaking English ever since I was in elementary school", Tomoyo replied back, "I just hope I don't let my superiors down". "I'm sure you'll do just fine", Konata assured her. "Besides, I heard you sing last week, and you're really good at it", Kagami agreed. "Thank you very much", Tomoyo mumbled. "You're welcome", Konata and Kagami replied together.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **March 20, 2012**

**Lamaze technique **- a prepared childbirth technique developed in the 1940s by French obstetrician Dr. Fernand Lamaze as an alternative to the use of medical intervention during childbirth. The goal of Lamaze is to increase a mother's confidence in her ability to give birth. Classes help them understand how to cope with pain in ways that both facilitate labour and promote comfort, such as focused breathing, movement, and massage.

**Castle in the Sky **- a European techno dance song composed by DJ Satomi. It was released in 2004 and was one of his biggest hits. It is also a very catchy song and one that you can really get up and dance to.


	19. Surprises, Concerts and Going into Labor

Note: This chapter will continue the pace of the last chapter. As we inch closer to Konata's due date, the story will continue its steady pace. At the end of this chapter, she will start to go into labor, with her baby girl being born sometime during Chapter 20.

One last minor note: With this chapter, Lucky Star: After Story will surpass Holiday Vacation for the title for my longest fanfic in terms of total chapters, even though the latter has already been surpassed in total word count by the former. And I still have plenty of work to do with this fanfic. I hope that you guys enjoy Chapter 19 and don't forget to leave a review.

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday October 25, 2011, 5:15 pm<strong>

A few days later, on Tuesday the 25th, Konata and Kagami were in their Kyoto apartment. The former was wearing a green T-shirt, blue denim jeans and white sneakers. The latter was wearing a pink long sleeved blouse, red necktie, brown khaki pants and black sneakers. They were hard at work finishing wrapping a brand new Blu-Ray player and one of those CD players that holds up to 5 CD's.

Now you might be asking yourself, why are Konata and Kagami wrapping gifts, if Christmas is still two months away. Well, I'll tell you why. Today was in fact Miyuki's 22nd birthday, and those were the presents that they were going to give to her. Earlier that day, Tsukasa had called the two up and told them that she needed their help to organize a little surprise party for her wife on her special day. They had told her they'd be there soon.

"Well, I've got the Blu-Ray player all wrapped up", Konata announced. "And I just finished wrapping the CD player", Kagami answered back. "All right, so we're ready to go", Konata replied. "That we are, my dear", Kagami responded. So with that, they carefully lifted the parcels up and walked down the hall to Tsukasa and Miyuki's apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>5:30 pm<strong>

When they got to the apartment a few doors down, Konata kicked the door a bit to get Tsukasa's attention, much to Kagami's consternation. "Oh hi there guys!", Tsukasa greeted. She was dressed in a pink dress, red sweater and white dress shoes. "Hey there, Tsukasa", Konata replied. "May we come in?", Kagami asked. "Sure thing, just place the boxes on the floor", Tsukasa answered back.

They then heard a "DING!" from the kitchen. "Oh the cake's ready!", Tsukasa realized as she ran to the kitchen and pulled a cake out of the oven, right next to a batch of cookies she had also made. "So where is the birthday girl?", Konata wondered. "She said she was going on some errands", Tsukasa explained to her. "When is she supposed to be back?", Kagami questioned.

"She should be back any minute", Tsukasa explained, as she handed the two girls a banner, "Could you two hang this up for me?". "Sure thing, Sis", Konata answered. "We'll have it up in a jiffy", Kagami concurred. At the same time, their sister was placing freshly inflated balloons strategically around the apartment. As soon as Konata and Kagami finished putting up the banner, they heard a knock on the door, and a familiar voice call out, "I'm back". "Oh she's here!", Tsukasa whispered as she turned off the lights, "You two hide!".

* * *

><p><strong>5:45 pm<strong>

As soon as her sisters were hidden, Tsukasa opened the door to let Miyuki in. She was dressed in a purple dress, pink long sleeved blouse, and gray dress shoes. "Oh hi there, Yuki-chan! Good to see you're back", she greeted. "It's nice to see you as well Tsukasa-san", Miyuki replied, "But why is it so dark in here? Did the power go out?". "Oh you'll see", Tsukasa explained to her as she turned on the lights.

As soon as the lights came back on, Konata and Kagami jumped out of their hiding places and shouted "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!". "Oh my goodness! What is this?", Miyuki giggled, putting her hands over her mouth. "It's your surprise birthday party!", Tsukasa announced. "Tsukasa called us up to help out", Konata chimed in. "She said she wanted to do something special for you for your birthday", Kagami intejected.

"Thank you all so much", Miyuki told them, "But you didn't have to go through all that trouble just for me". "Nonsense, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa explained to her, "We wanted to do this for you. Besides it's not every day that you turn 22". "Well, I really appreciate it. Thank you very much", Miyuki whispered wiping a tear from her eyes.

"Well, we have some gifts for you", Tsukasa told her, "I have a little gift for you myself that I'd like you to open first". She then handed her wife a long thin box. Miyuki opened it, and she saw a beautiful gold chain necklace studded with little **opal** diamonds and a locket on the end of it, and **tourmaline** earrings to go with it.

"Tsukasa-san, they're so beautiful", Miyuki gushed as she kissed her wife on the lips. "Thank you so very much". "Oh you're welcome, Yuki-chan", Tsukasa answered back, "I always enjoy seeing you happy". "You didn't really have to get me anything though", Miyuki reminded her. "I know", Tsukasa explained to her, "But I wanted to do something special for you today".

* * *

><p><strong>Monday October 31st, 6:00 pm<strong>

Six days later, the four girls arrived at a popular club for teens and young adults, which is were Ayaka and Nanami had booked the first big gig for their band. Apparently it was a Halloween party concert, judging by all of the costumed people in the room. While Tsukasa and Miyuki were looking for a table, Konata and Kagami headed backstage to see how things were going.

When they got backstage, they saw that Ayaka and Nanami were already prepared for this. Both were clad in sleek black dresses and matching dress shoes. Additionally, they both had their trusty guitars in their possession. Ayaka was holding a Fender American Standard P Base V 5 string bass guitar. Nanami was holding a Gibson Limited Run SG 12 string electric guitar.

"Hey there, guys!", Konata cheered. "Oh hi there, you two!", Ayaka responded. "Greetings, Konata-san and Kagami-san", Nanami greeted. "So where are the other members of the band?", Kagami wondered. "Oh don't worry, they're coming", Ayaka assured them. "They're just doing one last runover before we go up", Nanami added. Just then, Tomoyo came out from behind a curtain. She had on a blue dress, white sneakers and her waist length blond hair was tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon.

"Greetings, Tomoyo-san", Nanami greeted. "Have you practiced at all Tomoyo?", Ayaka wondered. "I practiced all day and all night yesterday", Tomoyo replied, "I didn't even get any sleep last night because I was practicing so much". "Well, you didn't need to go quite that far", Ayaka explained to her, "But I'm glad that you've practiced anyway".

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Tomoyo-san", Nanami added, "You'll do us proud". "Thank you guys", Tomoyo answered, blushing slightly. At the same time, Mariko and Chiyoko came out from behind the curtain. The former wore an orange dress, pink sneakers, and mouse ears on her head. The latter wore a red dress, matching high heeled dress shoes, pink sweater, cat ears on her head and her knee length brown hair was tied in braided pigtails. Both girls had whiskers and little black noses painted on their faces.

"Do I really have to wear these cat ears, Mariko? I look silly.", Chiyoko complained, "I'm nervous enough as it is". "Well, I'm wearing mouse ears, so technically, you're not alone here", Mariko explained, "And besides, you look so cute like that".

"You don't have to worry, Chiyoko. You're an excellent singer", Tomoyo added, "And besides, I'm going to sing with you". "Well, that does help me a little bit", Chiyoko admitted. "Now that's the spirit", Mariko beamed. At the same time, Konata and Kagami said goodbye to the group and went back to their seats.

* * *

><p><strong>7:00 pm<strong>

A little while later, the moment came for the band to prove themselves. A woman walked up with a microphone in her hand. "All right all you boys and girls. Here comes our next act", she called out, "Give it up for the 'Red Roses and Blue Violets (赤いバラと青いスミレ)'". The audience of about 500 people clapped and cheered, including our four heroines at the table in the front. "That's the name for their band", Konata explained. "Oh, so that's what they decided to name it", Kagami replied back.

After a brief musical interlude, Chiyoko and Tomoyo began singing Castle in the Sky.

Chiyoko: There's a place in my mind, no one knows where it hides. And my fantasy flies, it's a castle in the sky.

It's a world of our past, where the legend still lasts. And the king wears a crown, but the magic spell is law

Tomoyo: Take your sword and your shield, there's a battle on the field. You're a knight and you're right, so with dragons now you'll fight.

And my fantasy flies, it's a castle in the sky. Or there's nothing out there, these are castles in the air.

Both: Fairy tales live in me. Fables coming from my memory. Fantasy is not a crime. Find your castle in the sky. (about 10 seconds of scatting)

By now, the crowd was out of their seats and dancing to the techno beat. It was clear that both Chiyoko and Tomoyo had excellent singing voices. They were putting every bit of effort into their performances, despite their nervousness. As if they were determined not to let their fellow band members down.

"They're really kicking it now!", Konata exclaimed. "Yeah, they certainly are", Kagami agreed. "I'm having so much fun I can't stand it!", Tsukasa cheered. "I'm having a lot of fun as well", Miyuki concurred. After a musical interlude of about 20 or 30 seconds, Tomoyo and Chiyoko started singing the next verse.

Tomoyo: You've got the key, of the kingdom of the clouds. Open the door, leaving back your doubts.

Chiyoko: You've got the power, to live another childhood. So ride the wind, that leads you to the moon.

Both: Fairy tales live in me. Fables coming from my memory. Fantasy is not a crime. Find your castle in the sky. (about 10 more seconds of scatting)

The rest of the song was a musical interlude. Towards the end of the song (like the last 30 seconds or so), Nanami performed an epic guitar solo, that left many in the crowd screaming in delight. "Wow, I didn't expect that kind of solo!", Konata gasped, clearly surprised. "Neither did I. She's really good.", Kagami concurred.

With a final drum solo performed by Mariko, the song ended. The whole room cheered and applauded as the members of the group took a bow. "Thanks so much, you guys", Ayaka announced through a microphone, "You've been a fantastic audience. Give yourselves a hand!". The audience obliged by cheering even louder.

"And give a big hand to our two lead vocalists, Tomoyo and Chiyoko", Nanami added, as she spoke into another microphone, "They were great, weren't they? Take a bow, you two". The audience cheered and applauded even louder, as the two girls took a bow. "Happy Halloween, everyone!", the group yelled into microphones eagerly as they left the stage.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday November 10th, 10:30 pm<strong>

Ten days after the big Halloween concert, Konata and Kagami were in their apartment. Suddenly, Konata felt something weird in her abdomen. "Hey Konata, what's wrong", Kagami asked. "I think my water just broke", Konata answered. "You mean, you're having the baby right now?", Kagami wondered. "I'm pretty sure I am", Konata replied back, "I can feel her moving and trying to push herself out".

With that, Kagami carefully helped Konata onto the couch, and then she rushed to the phone to dial 119. By 10:45, paramedics were at the apartment. In case, you're not aware what's happening, I'll spell it out. Konata is now going into labor, which means that the baby's arrival is just hours away. Don't forget to read the next chapter to see what happens.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes<p>

Chapter completed on **March 31, 2012**

**Opal and Tourmaline **- the birthstones for the month of October.

In the Next Chapter: Konata finally gives birth and we'll get to see their baby girl.


	20. Giving Birth

Note: Well people, it's here. The Big Moment. The day that Konata gives birth to her baby girl has finally arrived. When the baby finally does comes out, you'll all get to see which side of the family she takes after. All of this chapter takes place over 1 or 2 days. This is also my longest chapter to date.

Another note: Since we're dealing with actual childbirth here, things are going to get intense again, and maybe even graphic, especially towards the end of the chapter. This chapter may be where the story really earns its PG-13 rating.

One last note: I made this chapter as a little birthday present for Miz-KTakase, one of my usual reviewers, who is turning 29 on April 3rd, which is today.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday November 10, 2011, 10:34 pm<strong>

It seems that the moment has finally come. After close to nine months of pregnancy, Konata has gone into labor. That means the baby is going to be arriving into this world very soon. Hopefully she'll be out within hours, though I've heard that labor could last for _days_. In any case, getting back to the story. As soon as she helped her wife onto the couch, Kagami rushed to the phone in the kitchen and quickly dialed 119.

* * *

><p>Note: This is one of my first times simulating a 911 call (my Vocaloid fanfic "From Concert to Chaos" not withstanding). I am aware I didn't really <em>need<em> to do this, but I just felt like doing it for the hell of it.

* * *

><p>Kagami: Hello operator, get me 119 immediately.<p>

(pause of about 10 seconds)

119 Operator: 119, what is your emergency?

Kagami: Yes, my wife has just gone into labor.

119 Operator: You're saying your wife is going into labor at this moment?

Kagami: Yes, she is. She said her water just broke a few minutes ago.

119 Operator: Do you guys need an ambulance?

Kagami: Yes we do. Send your closest one here immediately.

119 Operator: Okay, what's the address of your residence?

Kagami: We're in the apartment complex at 204 Yamashina Boulevard in the Higashiyama ward of Kyoto.

119 Operator: And what floor is that on?

Kagami: We're in Apartment Number 48 on the fourth floor of the building.

119 Operator: Okay we're going to send an ambulance and paramedics for you guys right away. And congratulations to you and your wife.

Kagami: Thank you very much.

119 Operator: You're welcome.

* * *

><p><strong>10:36 pm<strong>

As soon as Kagami finished the call, she ran back into the living room to check on Konata, who had moved to the rocking chair and had started going into contractions. "Oh man, this is starting to hurt a little bit", Konata complained. "It's okay, that's just the sign that the baby is on the way", Kagami answered, "Every woman gets contractions when they're about to give birth".

"What can I do to help with the pain I know I'm going to endure?", Konata wondered. "There are lots of things, like your breathing technique", Kagami told her, "Why don't you try that?". And so Konata started her breathing exercises (one big slow deep breath in and one big slow deep breath out with repetition) and rocked slowly in the chair. As she did that, Kagami gently held and stroked her wife's little hand. This seemed to help her to relax a little bit, at least for enough time for the paramedics to get to the apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>10:42 pm<strong>

Less than 10 minutes after the 119 call was made, the girls heard a knock on the door. Kagami answered it, and the paramedics were standing there, with a stretcher in tow behind them. Before they could leave, the paramedics had to ask them a few standard questions. You know the usual stuff. I don't know if they really ask this though. Anyway getting back to the story.

Paramedic 1: Okay, what seems to be the problem?

Konata: Well, I seem to be having a baby here.

Paramedic 2: How long have you been pregnant?

Konata: We went to the artificial insemination clinic back on February 19th, and the next day, I tested positive for pregnancy. So I'd say just under nine months.

Kagami: Actually, 8 months and 21 days or to be exact, 37 weeks and 4 days.

Paramedic 3: And one last question is this your first pregnancy?

Konata and Kagami: Yes it is.

"Okay we're all good here on the questions", Paramedic #1 declared, "Now let's load her onto the stretcher. And please let's be gentle". With that, the three helped Konata onto a stretcher and buckled her in. As they began to wheel her out of the room, Kagami grabbed her wife's hand as she said to her, "You're doing fine, Konata. Just stay calm okay?". "Okay Kagami~n, I'll try real hard", Konata answered back.

A little ways down the hall, one of the paramedics opened the door to the elevator. Right before they got in, Kagami rushed back to the apartment, but she came back a few seconds later. "Hey Kagami, where did you go?", Konata wondered. "I had to lock up the apartment", Kagami explained, "Since we're going to be at the hospital for a few days".

"Good idea", Konata answered back, "We don't want the place being robbed". "And I had to get an umbrella, because it's raining out right now", Kagami added, "I don't want you getting wet". "Well, thank you Kagami for caring so much", Konata replied, "But won't you get wet?". "Don't worry, I've got a coat on", Kagami assured her.

* * *

><p><strong>10:48 pm<strong>

After they went down the elevator to the lobby, they wheeled the stretcher down the wheelchair ramp. The ambulance was parked in front of the building and the back entrance ramp had already been lowered. They wheeled Konata into the ambulance and strapped her in, while Kagami sat down in a seat next to her wife. "By the way, where is this ambulance going?", Konata asked. "You guys are going to be headed to Kyoto General Hospital", the driver of the ambulance explained.

"That's the place we went to see the gender of our baby", Kagami remembered. "By the way, what was the gender of your child?", another paramedic asked. "We're having a girl", Konata replied, "She's supposed to be due this weekend actually". "Well, good luck to you two", another paramedic said to them. "Thank you", Konata and Kagami answered back in unison. And with that, the driver stepped on the gas and they were off to Kyoto General Hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>11:10 pm<strong>

The ambulance arrived at the hospital within 25 minutes of leaving the apartment complex. They would have arrived sooner but with the rain they had to drive slower to avoid getting into a crash. There were a few near misses due to some careless drivers. But they made it to the hospital in one piece.

The driver parked the ambulance in front of the emergency department doors. Seconds later, one of the paramedics opened the back doors and lowered the ramp. Another paramedic carefully wheeled Konata out of the cab. Just as her wife got out, Kagami quickly followed her. Already a doctor was outside waiting to take them into the hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>11:22 pm<strong>

After they were admitted into the hospital itself, they were moved to Room 408 on the fourth floor of the hospital. At this point, Konata's contractions were occuring about every 10 or 15 minutes. And each time they lasted anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds with increasing urgency. Not too long after being admitted, a nurse came in to check Konata's vital signs. But there was clearly something very familiar about this nurse.

"Tomoyo, is that you?", Konata wondered, "I didn't know that you work here". "I just got this job this past Monday in fact", Tomoyo answered back, "So I've heard that you've just gone into labor, huh?". "Yes, that's exactly right, and the contractions are starting to come closer together", Konata replied. "I'll tell that to the doctor right after I check your vital signs", Tomoyo confirmed.

With that, she took her patient's pulse and blood pressure, using that clip thing one puts on their pointer finger. The machine attached to it said on the screen:

_Pulse is 104 BPM _(beats per minute)

_Blood pressure is 112 systolic over 84 diastolic _(112/84)

_Respiration rate is 16 BPM _(breaths per minute)

"Well, your vital signs look pretty good so far", Tomoyo commented, "If you guys need me, I'll be nearby". "Thank you for that offer, Tomoyo", Kagami answered, "We may take you up on that". "I'll do my best to help you two", Tomoyo replied back, "Like I said, if you need me, just give me a ring". With that, she left the room to check on her next patient.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday November 11, 2011, 1:54 am<strong>

Very early the next morning, Kagami excused herself for a brief moment. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. "Come on, pick up! Pick up!", she whispered to herself, "Hurry up and pick up already!".

Back at the apartment complex, Tsukasa and Miyuki were in bed sleeping, when they heard the phone on the nightstand start ringing. Tsukasa picked it up and mumbled, "Hello". "Sis, it's Kagami", Kagami answered on the other end, "Listen, we're at Kyoto General Hospital and Konata's having the baby right now!". "Well, that's great, Sis", Tsukasa whispered, still mostly asleep, "Hang on a second". She put the phone on the floor for a minute and turned to Miyuki.

"Hey Yuki-chan, Kona-chan's having the baby", Tsukasa said softly. "Oh that's nice, Tsukasa-san", Miyuki whispered, "Tell them we'll be on the way down". "We'll be there soon, Sis", Tsukasa mumbled. "Well hurry, I don't want you two to miss this!", Kagami called out. With that, Tsukasa hung up the phone and the two were about to fall asleep again. Suddenly, what Kagami had said over the phone had finally sunk in.

The two girls immediately snapped awake and they quickly sat up in the bed. "HAVING THE BABY? RIGHT NOW?", they shouted in unison finally realizing the facts. "Yuki-chan, we've got to hurry up and get ready!", Tsukasa commanded. "You couldn't be more right, Tsukasa-san!", Miyuki concurred. With that, they bolted out of the bed, got out of their pajamas and threw some clothes on.

Immediately after that, Tsukasa and Miyuki bolted out of the apartment making sure to lock the door on their way out. As they sprinted down the stairway to the lobby, they quickly threw their coats on over their clothes. As they headed out they opened their umbrellas and they ran the whole 40 blocks to KGH in the pouring rain.

* * *

><p><strong>3:06 am<strong>

Back at the hospital, Konata had now been in labor for roughly four and a half hours. By now, her contractions were only about 3 or 4 minutes apart, and lasted about 90 to 120 seconds each. Even so, her cervix was still not yet fully dilated. It was only dilated to about 7.5 centimeters. In order for her to start pushing, it needed to be at 10 centimeters dilation.

"Oh my god!", Konata screamed during one of her contractions, "It really hurts now!". "I know it hurts, Konata", Kagami explained to her, "But try to stay calm all right?". "I'm trying to, Kagami. I'm really trying to stay calm", Konata answered, "But this is the worst pain I've ever felt in my life!". "Just try to think of something else", Tomoyo suggested. "I'm trying, but I can't!", Konata squeaked. "Keep trying!", Kagami insisted. "Don't give up yet!", Tomoyo reiterated.

However, the pain was proving to be simply too much and Konata began to cry. "Make it stop!", she sobbed, "It hurts so much!". "It's okay, Konata", Kagami tried to assure her as she held her wife in her arms, "I'll be right here with you". Seeing Konata in pain and with tears coming down her face made Kagami want to cry herself. Her own heart was aching badly from sadness. At the same time, Tomoyo felt shame filling her heart at not being able to help her patient out more.

Just then, Tsukasa and Miyuki rushed into the room. But in the process they tripped over their shoelaces and fell on their faces onto the tiled floor. "We hurried up and got ready then rushed over here", Tsukasa explained "We ran all 40 blocks to get here without stopping". "40 blocks? Even I can't run that far at one time", Tomoyo contemplated. "You could have just gotten a taxi", Kagami suggested. "We couldn't find one", Miyuki chimed in, "So we decided to just run as fast as we could".

"Well, I couldn't be more glad that you two are here", Konata said to them through her sobs, "As you can see I'm in a bit of a jam here". "Don't worry, Kona-chan, we're here for you now", Tsukasa asserted. "We'll help you through this thing, Konata-san", Miyuki affirmed. "We're all here for you", Kagami concurred, "We'll be right here to help".

"Thank you all so much", Konata whispered, wiping away some of her tears. At the same time, Kagami placed a cool, damp cloth on Konata's forehead. "There there, Konata", she said to her as she clutched her left hand, "No need to be scared". "I'll try as hard as I can to be brave", Konata confirmed, "For you, for my sisters and for me".

"Do you want me to get you some pain medication, Konata-chan?", Tomoyo asked. "I don't know. Will it hurt my baby?", Konata wondered. "No, it won't hurt her at all", Tomoyo explained to her, "But it will help dull some of your pain". "In that case, I think it's a good idea", Konata responded.

"I'll be right back then", Tomoyo called out as she rushed out of the room. She came back about 2 minutes later, with a couple of tablets in one hand and a glass of water in the other, which Konata eagerly took hoping to rid herself of some of her pain. "Thank you, Tomoyo", Konata replied eagerly. "You're welcome, Konata-chan", Tomoyo answered back.

* * *

><p><strong>6:48 am<strong>

At this point, Konata has been in labor for more than 8 hours. She's now fully dilated at 10 centimeters. This means that she is now in active labor. Her contractions have gotten even stronger, and they don't seem to go away now. During one particularly strong contraction, Konata actually passed out for about 2 or 3 minutes from the pain, only to be woken up by another equally strong contraction.

Konata let out another ear-piercing shriek as another strong contraction hit. "GOD DAMN IT! I'VE GOT TO PUSH!", she screamed, "I'VE JUST GOT TO PUSH!" "All right, but try not to push too hard, Konata-chan!", Tomoyo advised. "If you push too hard you could cause yourself more trouble", Kagami added in. With that, Konata started pushing, panting and breathing through each contraction.

"All right, you're doing great, Konata-chan", Tomoyo explained, "Just hang on a little longer". "I'll try to", Konata answered back, "I'm trying the best I can". "Think positive, just think positive, Kona-chan", Tsukasa encouraged. "We know you can do this, Konata-san", Miyuki concurred. "We'll be here for you", Kagami concluded. "With you guys with me, I guess I have nothing to worry about", Konata admitted, "Even if these contractions hurt like a bitch".

Sometime later, Tomoyo noticed that the baby's head was finally starting to appear. "All right, you're crowning! You're almost there, Konata-chan!", she cheered. "Did you hear that, Konata? Just a few more contractions and you'll be done", Kagami encouraged as she put another damp cloth on her wife's head and wiped away some of her tears.

"All right. I've just got to think positive", Konata told herself. And finally, after panting and breathing her way through about 5 or 6 more contractions and a slight squirt of blood, she heard a baby's voice crying out. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God!", she thought to herself.

* * *

><p><strong>9:20 am<strong>

After nearly eleven hours of labor, the baby finally came out of the womb at 9:20 am. After another nurse helped to clean the blood and fluids off the little girl, Tomoyo gently wrapped the baby girl in a blanket and handed her to Konata. And with that, Konata and Kagami gently kissed each other on the lips.

"Oh look at her, Kagami", Konata whispered, her eyes filling with tears of joy, "Isn't she beautiful?". "She certainly is, Konata", Kagami agreed, her own eyes filling with happy tears, "Almost as beautiful as you". "You know what, Kagami? She's got your hair.", Konata noticed. "You know what else, Konata? She has your eyes", Kagami added.

"Now the only thing left for you two to do is to name her", Tsukasa explained to them. "Is their any particular name that you two have in mind?", Miyuki wondered. "We've thought about it for a while actually", Konata answered, "And we've decided to name her Kanata, after my mother". "And that's such a beautiful name for such a beautiful little girl", Kagami concurred.

"Amen to that, sisters", Tomoyo chimed in, "You all did great in these last few hours". After the measurements were taken, she wrote the name of the baby on the birth certificate, along with the rest of the data:

**Kanata Izumi-Hiiragi**

Born on Friday November 11th 2011 at 9:20 a.m.

Height: 52 cm (20.47 inches)

Weight: 3.63 kg (8 pounds)

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **April 3, 2012**

The Japanese addressing system is much different than it is in America. Here is an example of this extremely confusing format:

京都府京都市下京区烏丸塩小路上ル

"Karasuma-Shiokōji-agaru, Shimogyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu".

Or in layman's terms,

"On Shiokoji and Karasuma Streets in the Shimogyo ward of Kyoto in the Kyoto Prefecture".


	21. The Hours After and a Baby Shower

Note: At the end of Chapter 19 and the start of Chapter 20, Konata finally went into labor. It was a long, painful and tiring process; she actually passed out during one paritcularly severe contraction. But finally after close to 11 hours of labor, she finally gave birth to a baby girl. Anyway, she and Kagami knew exactly what to name her. Their baby girl was named Kanata Izumi-Hiiragi, in a tribute to Konata's late mother Kanata, a mother whom she barely knew.

Another note: I apologize for the fact that it took so long for me to finally upload this chapter. I really didn't know what to write after Chapter 20, at first. Writer's block is really a pain in my ass. Also, this chapter will most likely be a bit shorter than the last one, which coincidentally, was also my longest chapter to date (at 3,156 words).

One last note: Another brand new character will make her first appearance in this story during this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday November 11, 2011, 9:40 am<strong>

Not too long after little Kanata was born, out came the placenta with one last strong contraction and a last small squirt of blood. And yes, I've read that it _does_ come out of the womb shortly after the baby makes it out. Konata obviously felt relieved knowing that her pain was finally over. However for Kagami, it was a different story. The sight of the placenta along with the blood, caused her to turn as white as a sheet.

"Kagami, is something wrong?", Konata wondered. "I feel nauseous all of a sudden", Kagami told her, "Where's the trash can?". "Oh, the trash can. It's right over there", Tomoyo explained. As soon as Kagami had reached the trash can, she threw up and whatever little bit was left in her stomach was ejected into the bin. After this she fell back down on the floor, moaning a bit as she landed.

"Oh god! Kagami, are you all right?", Konata asked desperately. "Yeah, I'm fine", Kagami mumbled, "Just a little dizzy". "Are you sure you're okay?", Tomoyo questioned. "Yes, I'm all right. I should have told you that I get sick at the sight of blood", Kagami explained. Meanwhile, Tsukasa and Miyuki helped their sister back up and into a chair. "You took quite a spill, sis", Tsukasa noted. "Maybe you should just sit down for a little bit", Miyuki suggested.

"That's probably a good idea", Kagami answered back, then turning to her wife apologized by saying, "I'm sorry, Konata. I didn't mean to frighten you". To that, Konata put her left arm around Kagami and said to her, "Aw, that's all right, Kagami~n. You didn't mean it". "Konata-chan has a point, Kagami-chan", Tomoyo interjected, "When Hiroko was born, my dad nearly fainted himself, and he's a pretty tough guy". "Excuse me Tomoyo, not to interrupt you or anything, but who's Hiroko?", Tsukasa wondered. "I'd like to know who Hiroko is as well, Tomoyo-san", Miyuki chimed in.

"Well, Hiroko's my little sister", Tomoyo answered, "I was 4 and a half when she was born. Ah, I still remember that day". "When was that day, Tomoyo?", Tsukasa asked. "It was May 18, 1993 when Hiroko was born", Tomoyo explained, "We were in Room 510 on the fifth floor of this very building". "Your sister was born here too, Tomoyo-san?", Miyuki wondered. "Yes, she was. And her birth is what inspired my childhood dream of becoming a nurse", Tomoyo continued.

A few minutes later, Tomoyo got up and said, "Well, I'll see you guys later". "Where are you going?", Kagami asked. "Well Kagami-chan, technically my shift ended at 3:00 am", Tomoyo explained, "But I just couldn't leave you guys, especially not with Konata-chan in so much pain". "Thanks for staying us through the night", Konata said to her, "You were a big help too". "Aw, you're welcome.", Tomoyo replied as she patted her patient on the head, "And by the way, congrats on your new baby girl". "Thank you", Konata and Kagami answered in unison. "Once again, you're very welcome", Tomoyo commented as she walked out of the room to punch out.

* * *

><p><strong>3:48 pm<strong>

A few hours later, Konata and Kagami had woken up. They had fallen asleep due to exhaustion from being up all night. Little Kanata had been moved into a little incubator where people put babies in after they are born, located in the same room. A nurse came in to check Kanata's vital signs. "So how is Kanata doing healthwise?", Konata wondered. "Well, Mrs. Izumi. Kanata is doing very well", the nurse explained to her. "That's great. We'll be the best parents we can be", Kagami replied. "Definitely, come hell or high water", Konata agreed. "I'm glad to hear that", the nurse answered back as she went to check Konata's vital signs.

_Pulse is 86 BPM (beats per minute)_

_Blood pressure is 102 stsyolic over 76 diastolic_

_Respiration rate is 14 BPM (breaths per minute)_

"Well, Mrs. Izumi", the nurse continued, "Your vital signs are excellent as well". "Well, I'm glad to hear that", Konata told her. "So am I", Kagami explained then turning to her little wife continued, "You see Konata, I told you you had nothing to worry about". "Thankfully for the both of us, you were right Kagami~n", Konata replied back. After this was said, the two young lovers put their arms around each other and kissed the other on the lips.

It was then that they noticed that the rain that had been slowing down since 10 am, had finally stopped altogether. "Hey Kagami, look out the window", Konata noticed, "It looks like the rain's finally stopped". "Hmm, you're right Konata", Kagami agreed as she walked over to the window, "It looks like the sun's coming out now". After a few minutes, the sun eventually did come out and a rainbow formed in plain sight of Kyoto General Hospital.

"Hey Konata, look! There's a rainbow!", Kagami called out. Konata carefully lifted herself into a wheelchair and wheeled herself over to where her wife was. "Oh wow, Kagami. You were right, there is a rainbow", Konata realized. "A perfect end to one of the biggest days of our lives", Kagami told her. "Definitely a perfect end", Konata agreed, looking over at Kanata and then back at her loving wife.

* * *

><p><strong>Monday November 14th, 3:00 pm<strong>

After a total of 3 days in the hospital, the new family was cleared to leave KGH. They were checked out of the hospital at 2:30 pm that afternoon. After that, they took a taxi back to their apartment which as I already mentioned was 40 blocks away from the hospital. As Konata and Kagami headed up the last flight of stairs leading to the apartment (with the former carefully holding Kanata in her arms), they noticed their younger sisters at the top waiting for them.

"Welcome home, you two!", Tsukasa greeted. "It's very nice to see you guys again", Miyuki added. "Well, I tell you it's really good to be home", Konata replied. "It certainly is nice to be home, dear", Kagami responded turning to her love. "And there she is", Tsukasa noted, "Hello there little Kanata". "Greetings, Kanata-san", Miyuki chimed in, "It's very nice to see you".

After a few minutes, Tsukasa and Miyuki decided that it was time to let their sisters go back to their apartment so they could rest. "Well, we should leave now, so you two can rest", Tsukasa empathized. "Yes, I'm sure that it's been a long 3 days for you two", Miyuki concurred. "Believe us, it has been a long few days", Konata admitted. "You guys can come back tomorrow though", Kagami explained. With that the four girls separated. "Come on Kanata", Konata whispered to her daughter, "Time to go home". "We're going to do our best to be the best parents we can be", Kagami added.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday November 26th, 4:30 pm<strong>

Two weeks after Kanata was born, the other girls decided to throw the proud parents with a baby shower. Earlier that day, Konata and Kagami had recieved a message from Tsukasa and Miyuki to meet them at their apartment at around 4:30 pm and to bring Kanata with them. So just as the message had said, Konata and Kagami arrived at Tsukasa and Miyuki's apartment at 4:30 pm. Konata knocked on the door because Kagami was holding Kanata in her arms.

A few seconds later, Tsukasa opened the door and greeted them with "Hey there guys! It's great to see you!". Likewise, Miyuki greeted them with, "Greetings Konata-san and Kagami-san". "Hi there!", Konata replied. "May we come in?", Kagami asked. "Of course come right on in", Tsukasa told her. "Just have a seat anywhere you want", Miyuki added.

With that, Konata and Kagami sat down on the couch, with the latter still holding Kanata. "So why did you guys call us here?", Kagami asked. "It must be something important", Konata noted. "Well, the truth is we decided to throw you a baby shower", Miyuki answered. "We know it's a little bit late, but it's the thought that counts right?", Tsukasa added. "Oh well thanks you guys", Konata replied. "We don't mind at all if it's late", Kagami chimed. "In that case, come on in girls!", Tsukasa and Miyuki called out.

Upon them saying this, the others emerged from their hiding places and yelled out "SURPRISE!". Ayaka and Nanami popped out from behind the counter. Mariko jumped out of the storage closet. Chiyoko emerged from a rather large box. Tomoyo climbed out from behind the couch, and another girl jumped out of another closet. Clearly, the two girls were surprised to see their friends emerge out of nowhere. But who was this last girl? Well we're about to find out.

The unnamed girl walked up to Konata and Kagami and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Hiroko Yoshida (吉田 浩子). I'm Tomoyo's little sister", she explained. "Nice to meet you, Hiroko", Konata and Kagami answered in unison. "So you two must be Konata and Kagami", Hiroko responded, "Tomoyo's told me all about you two". "I hope you're not against it", Konata replied. "Is that really a bad thing for two women to be wed and have a child?", Kagami questioned. Clearly they were nervous about what the new girl would say to them.

"Whoa, now hang on a minute, I never said anything like that", Hiroko insisted, "You guys jump to conclusions too easily". "You mean you don't mind that we're married?", Konata asked. "And that we have a child?", Kagami wondered. "Of course not", Hiroko answered, "It's like my big sister says, it shouldn't matter if you're heterosexual or not". "Well, now that we have that matter settled, let's get this party rolling!", Tomoyo interjected. "All right! Let's go!", Ayaka and Nanami called out. "Time to party!", Mariko shouted. "Could you guys please keep your voices down?", Chiyoko wondered, "Baby Kanata could be asleep".

After things calmed down a little bit, the girls gave the new parents the presents for them and the baby. In total, Kanata got a bouncy seat, a little activity gym, a few children's books, and one of those full body blankets (helps reduce the risk of SIDS). Meanwhile, Konata and Kagami recieved a new baby monitor system (so they could listen in on Kanata at all times to make sure she's OK), a bath kit, and a sleep aid kit. To top it off, Tomoyo and Hiroko had constructed a little crib for Kanata.

It was not an easy task getting it in to Konata and Kagami's apartment. "Hiroko, you've got the long side facing the door", Tomoyo told her. "Well Tomoyo, then help me flip it around, will you?", Hiroko asked. The other girls noticed the struggle as well. "It's like trying to put a square peg in a round hole", Ayaka noted. "Turn the darn thing so that the short end faces the door", Nanami called out. "I wonder how much longer it will take", Mariko chimed in. "They'll figure it out in a minute", Chiyoko assured them.

After a few minutes, Tomoyo and Hiroko had managed to get the heavy crib into the apartment and into the parents' room. "There, now that wasn't so hard was it?", Tomoyo commented. "No, not that hard", Hiroko concurred, "Even if it did weigh about 120 pounds". The two girls called out to the group and exclaimed, "We've got it in!". The other girls cheered at this. "Thank you very much", Konata and Kagami replied in unison. "You're welcome", Tomoyo and Hiroko answered back. "And thank you to everyone else as well", the two parents called out to the girls. "You're both welcome", the others replied back eagerly.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes<p>

Chapter completed on **April 25, 2012**

In the Next Chapter: Chapter 22 will wrap up the Konata and Kagami family arc. After that, there will be a surprise arc which will probably go through Chapters 23 and 24. The name and setting of the arc will be revealed at the end of Chapter 22.


	22. Baby Care and a Christmas Party

Note: This chapter will wrap up the Konata and Kagami family arc. But don't worry I'll get some more fun with this family in soon enough. By the way, make sure you read until the end of this chapter to find out what arc will follow this one. Enjoy my friends and fellow fanfic readers, and please don't forget to leave a review.

By the way, this will most likely end up being one of the longest chapters yet, and possibly even _the_ longest chapter I have made to date.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday December 16, 2011, 12:34 pm<strong>

A few weeks after the baby shower, Konata and Kagami were in their apartment taking care of little Kanata. The former was wearing a red short sleeved turtleneck, short blue shorts and white thigh high nylon stockings, and she had her long blue hair in braided pigtails. The latter was wearing a green long sleeved turtleneck, brown pants and black over knee nylon stockings, and she had her long purple hair all the way down for a change. Now getting back to topic, it wasn't exactly an easy job taking care of a child. Kanata sometimes woke up crying in the middle of the night, which of course sometimes left both of her mothers exhausted. Despite this, there were also many good times as well.

"You know, Konata", Kagami interjected, "It's hard to believe that it's only been 5 weeks since Kanata was born". "I know what you mean, Kagami", Konata concurred, "It seems like a lot longer since I gave birth to her". "It might not be an easy job", Kagami added, "But someone has to take care of Kanata". "If it means a few sleepless nights, I'm still all for it", Konata chimed in, "I'll never stop loving my little girl, even if she is a handful". "I'll never stop loving her either", Kagami agreed. "Just like I'll never stop loving you", Konata concluded.

The two young women hugged each other and were about to kiss when they heard a little gurgling noise. They looked towards their daughter and saw that she had spit up a little bit, like most babies do. "Aw, damn it", Konata sighed, "Not again". "I'll go get the washcloth", Kagami answered as she got up and walked towards the kitchen. She emerged about 30 seconds later holding a small damp piece of cloth and carefully cleaned Kanata up with it. "There now everything should be all set", she sighed hopefully.

However not long after, Kanata found another way to cause some typical baby mischief. This time, it involved pulling Konata's little cowlick, or what TV Tropes sometimes calls an "idiot hair", on the top of her head. "Ow ow, Kanata, please let go out of mommy's hair", Konata protested. Kanata on the other hand was giggling with glee, clearly not quite understanding the concept of pain yet. Finally Kagami got Kanata off of Konata, but then Kanata began tugging at Kagami's purple tresses. "Hey! Mommy's hair is not a toy, Kanata", Kagami warned. Kanata had a strong grip, especially for a 5 week old baby, but finally they managed to get her off and back into her crib.

* * *

><p>Note: I'm not trying to make Kanata out to be a bad girl in this chapter or anything like that. I'm not an expert on how babies act, because I of course do not have a child.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>2:46 pm<strong>

A little while later, after Kanata had fallen asleep, Konata and Kagami plopped down onto the couch thoroughly tired out. "Now I know why taking care of a baby is such hard work", Konata sighed. "Yeah, like when just a few minutes ago, Kanata made a mess in her diaper", Kagami concurred, "And before we could put a new one on her, she wound up peeing on us by accident". "Don't worry", Konata assured her, "Someday we're going to look back at this and laugh our heads off". Just then, they heard a knock at the door. Konata lifted herself up and opened the door. As it turned out, Tomoyo and Hiroko were standing outside the apartment.

Now to go off topic for just a moment. Tomoyo and Hiroko being a few years apart would obviously have some significant differences from the other. Tomoyo has waist length light blonde hair, green **tsurime **eyes, and she is 174 cm tall (or 5 feet 8.5 inches). Hiroko has chest length light brown hair, blue **tareme **eyes, and she is 154 cm tall (or about 5 feet 1 inch). Now to get back to the story.

"Oh hey", she greeted. "Hi there, Konata-chan", Tomoyo greeted. "May we come in?", Hiroko asked. "Sure go right ahead", Kagami called out from the living room. So taking her word, Tomoyo and Hiroko went into the living room and sat down. "Wait a minute", Hiroko interjected, sniffing the air, "Why do I smell urine?". "Hiroko!", Tomoyo protested, "Did you have to say that out loud?". "What? Don't tell me you don't smell that", Hiroko tried to explain before her older sibling put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, guys", Tomoyo apologized, "I don't know what's gotten into her".

"Oh that's all right", Konata replied, "You could say Kanata had something to do with that". "A few minutes ago, Kanata went in her diaper", Kagami answered, "Before we could put a new one on her, she accidentally peed on us". "You know, I remember Hiroko doing that once", Tomoyo chimed in, giggling a bit, "I got soaked one time". "Come on Tomoyo!", Hiroko complained, red in the face, "Don't go mentioning that!".

The two sisters then began arguing and fighting with each other, like normal sisters do. To put it this way, Tomoyo and Hiroko have sort of a love-hate relationship. A lot of times, they love each other very much and are willing to stand by the other. On the other hand, there are also many times that they want to kill the other sibling. "You are so immature, Hiroko!", Tomoyo yellled. "Well _you're_ an idiot, Tomoyo!", Hiroko shouted. "You suck!", Tomoyo called out. "No,_ you_ suck!", Hiroko fired back.

"Could you two please be quiet?", Kagami demanded, "If you wake up Kanata, I'm not going to...". Before Kagami could finish her sentence, Kanata woke up and began bawling. "Oh now, look what you've done!", Kagami scolded. "I'll go and calm her down", Konata answered as she walked back to Kanata's room. "Sorry, that was childish and things got out of hand", Tomoyo apologized. "I guess we let our tempers get to our heads", Hiroko added. With that, the two girls apologized to each other.

A few seconds later, Konata came out holding Kanata in her arms, who wasn't crying anymore. "Well Kagami, I've calmed her down", she called out to her wife, "But I think she's hungry now". "What makes you think that, Konata?", Kagami asked. "Just listen to her stomach", Konata instructed. Kagami put her ear on Kanata's little belly and heard a small growling noise. "Oh you're right", she concurred, "You're hungry, aren't you Kanata?" "Um-hum", Kanata gurgled.

"I'll feed her", Konata announced. "I don't know if that's a good idea to feed her now", Kagami warned, "After all, we have guests". "Don't worry about us, just go ahead and do what you need to do", Tomoyo answered. "Are you sure you don't mind", Kagami asked. "Sure, it's your house, you can do what you want in it", Hiroko asserted. "Well, it's settled then", Konata replied, "Come on Kanata, time for lunch".

* * *

><p>Note: The next scene contains breastfeeding. And we all know that women have to expose their breasts to get the breastmilk to the baby. Reader discretion therefore is strongly advised. BTW, this scene was inspired by a KonataKagami doujinshi I read online where they are married and have a little girl.

* * *

><p>Konata handed Kanata to Kagami as she sat down on the couch. She then undid her pigtails letting her hair all the way down. Then she removed her turtleneck and placed it next to her. She began to unhook her white bra and once it was unhooked took it off, exposing a pair of small breasts (but a bit larger than her high school days). Finally, she held her daughter up to her left breast and Kanata began to suck on it. Tomoyo and Hiroko turned away so as not to see.<p>

"Hmmmm", Kagami mumbled. "What is it?", Konata asked, "Kanata's drinking just fine". "No it's not that", Kagami replied. "Then what is it then?", Konata wondered. "I was just wondering if you could actually get milk out", Kagami answered. "W-What did you just say?", Konata demanded, clearly shocked and with a blush on her face. "Do you want me to feed Kanata for you?", Kagami wondered, smirking a bit. "It's fine, there's enough milk coming out", Konata grumbled, annoyed by Kagami's comments.

Meanwhile, Hiroko had managed to sneak a peek of what was going on. "Oh so that's how breastfeeding works", she whispered to herself. "Hiroko, what are you doing?", Tomoyo demanded, "Don't embarrass them!" "I just wanted to see how it works", Hiroko answered. "It's no different than when Mom used to breastfeed you", Tomoyo countered, as she pulled her sister away from the sight. "Why do I feel like my sister's becoming a pervert?", she asked herself.

"Don't you worry, Kagami", Konata said to her wife, "Kanata will have plenty to drink so she can become big and strong". "This is actually kind of cute", Kagami thought to herself, with a smile on her face. She then started thinking about all the times that she had been sucking on her wife's breasts herself. Konata noticed this and said to her daughter, "Actually Kanata, make sure you leave some for Kagami, she likes to drink too you know".

Kagami immediately turned bright red and gasped, "Konata! What are you talking about?". "Wasn't there someone else in here who said 'Konata, your little breasts are so cute' while inoccently sucking away?", Konata wondered with a bit of sarcasm in her voice, "Odd, isn't it? I wonder who it could have been?". "Ah...but I...that was...I mean...I just...umm", Kagami sputtered nervously blushing even more out of embarrassment. "All right, Kagami. Calm down I'm just teasing you", Konata continued. "Geez, Konata! Do you have to be so blunt about it?", Kagami demanded. "Sorry, I couldn't resist", Konata admitted.

After a few more minutes, Kanata stopped sucking on her mother's breast. "Is your tummy full, Kanata?", Konata asked. Kanata just nodded yes in reply, as she shut her eyes to go back to sleep. She then put her bra back on, and her turtleneck over that. "Okay. Tomoyo, Hiroko, you two can look now", Kagami announced. About 2 seconds after that, Tomoyo and Hiroko looked towards the two girls and their daughter. After a few more minutes, they left upon realizing how late in the afternoon it was getting.

Before the two girls left, Konata and Kagami handed them each a little sheet of paper. "What's this piece of paper for?", Tomoyo asked. "It's an invitation to our annual Christmas party next Friday", Konata explained. "Yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun", Kagami added in. "Well, if fun is involved then I'm all for it", Hiroko replied. "Hope to see you there", Konata and Kagami replied together.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday December 23, 2011, 7:00 pm<strong>

One week later, Konata and Kagami had finished setting up for their annual Christmas party. Konata wore a red dress, a green scarf, white over knee nylon stockings, black high heeled pumps, and her hair was tied in a ponytail with a green ribbon. Kagami wore a green dress, a red scarf, black thigh high nylon stockings, white pumps, and her hair was tied in pigtails with red ribbons. "Well Kagami, we almost look alike, but our colors are opposites", Konata noticed. "That they are, Konata", Kagami empathized, "It's like a palette swap". Just then they heard a knock at the door. "Don't get up, I'll get it", Kagami called out as she walked out into the living room.

She opened the door and Tsukasa and Miyuki were standing just outside the door. Tsukasa had on an brown skirt, a orange sweater, white over knee socks, and black leather Mary Janes. Miyuki had on a red dress, a orange turtleneck, black nylon stockings, and white ballet flats. Both were holding wrapped parcels. "Welcome, please come in", Kagami greeted. "Thanks so much, Sis", Tsukasa replied. "Where should we put these presents?", Miyuki questioned. "Just put them under the tree", Konata instructed. Her sisters then placed the parcels underneath the tree.

After another few minutes, they heard another knock at the door. "I'll get it this time", Konata answered. She opened the door and saw that Ayaka and Nanami were standing there. The older and taller girl wore a red sweater, blue jeans, brown knee high socks, and white sneakers. The younger and shorter girl wore a pink dress, a white turtleneck, gray over knee socks, and black high heeled slingbacks. They too were holding wrapped packages. "Hey there", Konata greeted. "Hi there, Konata-chan", Ayaka replied eagerly. "Greetings, Konata-san", Nanami responded politely. With that, the two went in. And no sooner than Konata had closed the door than yet another knock on the door.

This time, Tsukasa and Miyuki answered the door. They opened it and saw Mariko and Chiyoko standing there. The former was clad in a violet sweater, a indigo skirt, melon over knee socks, salmon saddle shoes and her shoulder length red hair was tied in a side ponytail with an orange ribbon. The latter was clad in a turquoise dress, strawberry turtleneck, wisteria thigh high nylon stockings, timberwolf high heeled platform shoes, and her nearly ankle length brown hair was tied into simple pigtails with two pink ribbons. Just like everyone else, they were holding packages in their arms. "Greetings and welcome to the party", Tsukasa answered. "Hey there! What's going on?", Mariko shouted enthusiastically. "Won't you please come in?", Miyuki asked. "Yes, and thank you very much", Chiyoko responded quietly.

After another few minutes, came still another knock at the door. "Come in!", the girls called out. The door opened and Tomoyo and Hiroko came into the apartment. They were actually dressed in matching outfits: a lavender dress, a mahogany sweater, sepia thigh high socks, black court shoes, and their hair was tied in a braided ponytail held with a goldenrod ribbon. "We're here finally", Tomoyo announced, "Sorry that it took so long". "Oh don't worry", Konata assured them. "You two are just in time", Kagami concurred. "Just in time?", Hiroko wondered, "Just in time for what?". "Chiyoko wanted to give Kanata a gift she built herself", Tsukasa explained. "She insisted that we see it right now", Miyuki concurred.

Well, Konata and Kagami were just about to open the box for Kanata, when they heard one last knock at the door. "Who could it be this time?", Konata wondered as she and Kagami got up to answer the door, "Maybe it's the mailman". "Oh, don't be silly", Kagami scoffed, "The mail carriers don't come anywhere near this late at night". They opened the door and much to their surprise, Yutaka and Minami, who we haven't heard from in a while, were right in front of them having come all the way from Tokyo. The smaller and younger girl wore a brick red dress, forest green turtleneck, white thigh high nylon stockings, and red orange high heeled pumps. The taller and older girl wore a robin's egg dress, apricot turtleneck, silver nylon stockings and orchid ballet flats.

"Yu-chan! You made it!", Konata beamed. "Of course, I wouldn't miss this party for anything", Yutaka giggled, hugging her older cousin. "Well, we're really glad you two are here", Kagami stated. "And we're happy to be here right now", Minami answered. "Anyway you two are just in time", Konata told them. "We're just about to see what Kanata got", Kagami added. "Oh and where is the baby right now?", Yutaka asked. "I too would like to know where she is", Minami agreed. "I'll go get her", Konata announced as she went to her room to get Kanata. "Come on in and take a seat with the group", Kagami instructed. With that, Yutaka and Minami sat down with the other girls.

As soon as Kanata was brought to the group and after Yutaka and Minami were introduced to her, Konata and Kagami opened the box. They were surprised to see a rather complicated walking device. "Do you like it?", Chiyoko asked, "I built it myself". "It's true", Mariko interjected, "She has _a ton_ of homemade contraptions at her house". "It's not that we don't like it", Konata answered. "We just don't know what it does", Kagami continued. "Well, it's a little baby walking/playing device for when she gets big enough to use it", Chiyoko answered, "I'll tell you what it does". They then placed Kanata in the seat and strapped her in.

"This toy can move in any direction, thanks to the revolving wheels on the bottom", Chiyoko explained, "You can adjust the height with this little crank here, and pushing this lever can make it go fast or slow". "It also has a built in weather shield, and has the ability to vibrate lightly when you push this button", she continued, "The motor on the back can be run on either solar power or battery power, it can support a child up to 50 kilograms (or about 110 pounds), and above all, it has all sorts of little safe hands on stuff for Kanata to play with and it can be operated with this remote control". With that, she turned the on switch on the remote control and sure enough, the device started moving on its own. Understandably, everyone was amazed that it worked.

"What are you some kind of genius?", Hiroko sputtered. "No, but she was the valedictorian of our graduating class in high school", Mariko answered. "And I guess I just have a knack for making stuff like this", Chiyoko admitted. "Well, Kanata seems to enjoy it", Konata noted. "Yeah, I see that smile on her face", Kagami added. Kanata was giggling with glee as the stroller play mobile moved around. After that, the rest of the party was a total success, and it concluded with everyone going out and singing Christmas carols to everyone in the neighborhood. The girls had a lot of fun at the party and going out and singing. It truly was a night to remember.

* * *

><p>Chapter completed on <strong>May 9, 2012<strong>

**Tsurime **(つり目) - A particular style of drawing eyes in anime where the outer corners point upward rather than the traditional moe-moe downward. Tsurime generally represents strong will, arrogance or pride in a character, and is usually seen with Tsunderes, Kuuderes and Badass Action Girls. Examples of Tsurime eyes in this story include Mariko, Chiyoko, and Tomoyo.

**Tareme **(垂れ目) - A particular style of drawing eyes in anime where they droop or sag. Tareme generally represents a kind, quiet or otherwise soft person, and is the usual way you will see eyes on a moe character. Examples of Tareme eyes in this story include Ayaka, Nanami, and Hiroko.

Now that this arc is done, it's time to move on to something that I've wanted to do for a_ long_ time. Even though this is called "Lucky Star: After Story", the next arc will be a flashback arc featuring Mariko and Chiyoko, and it will cover how they met and became friends. It will run through Chapters 23, 24 and 25. I know nobody asked for this arc and that I risking losing viewers and getting bad reviews for this but right now I don't care. After that arc is done, I'm finally going to get Yutaka and Minami back into this story so that they can finally have their time in the spotlight.


	23. College Graduation and Memories

Note: Starting with this chapter, and going through to Chapter 25, things are going to be very different. As I said at the end of the last chapter, this chapter will start a 3 chapter flashback arc, which will feature Mariko and Chiyoko, two of my supporting characters, as the main characters (temporarily of course). I am well aware that I am risking bad feedback and losing readers, but I've wanted to do this for a while, so please go easy on me.

Another note: The flashback scenes will start approximentally two-thirds of the way through this chapter. Next chapter is where the flashbacks really start to take up space.

One last note: In this arc, several characters will join the cast, including two in this chapter alone (both will be male, which is a first for this fanfic).

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday March 27, 2012, 12:00 pm<strong>

A few months later, at the **Sendai City Gymnasium**, the graduation ceremony for Tohoku University took place. And it did take place at that location on that day in real life, I checked it myself. About 500 students, all wearing their special graduation kimonos, were waiting to get their diplomas. Among those students were Mariko and Chiyoko. "Well Chiyoko, this is it, girl!", Mariko sputtered excitedly, "The day that we graduate from college! Isn't it great?". "Yeah, well it may be great for _you_, Mariko", Chiyoko sighed, "But it's not going to be great for_ me_". "Are you still worked up about having to give that speech?", Mariko asked. "I've never been so nervous in my life", Chiyoko explained, "I don't understand why the valedictorian always has to give a speech".

"It's been a tradition of graduation ceremonies all over the globe for ages", Mariko answered, "And Tohoku University is no exception". "But I don't want to make a fool out of myself!", Chiyoko protested. "Don't worry about it", Mariko insisted, "Just remember what I told you to do if you get nervous". "You mean to just imagine the audience in the underwear?", Chiyoko wondered. "Exactly, it's as simple as that, Chiyoko!", Mariko asserted. "Okay Mariko, I'm going to try real hard", Chiyoko told her friend, "I'm going to do that speech even if it kills me!".

At the same time, the principal of the university came up to the microphone. When he tapped it, the device made a high pitched feedback noise, which was stopped when he moved the microphone down. "Now before we hand out the diplomas, we have one last speech to get out of the way", he explained to the audience, "It is my privilege and honor to introduce the valedictorian of the Class of 2012, Chiyoko Sakamoto". The students stood up and applauded as Chiyoko nervously made her way to the podium, while Mariko was cheering louder than any of them. When she reached the podium, the students wound down and sat back in their seats. Chiyoko took a deep breath and was about to speak when she heard Mariko shouting "You rock, Chiyoko!".

"Thank you, everyone", Chiyoko answered, "To tell you all the truth, I didn't really know what to talk to you all about, but I do know now". Here is the full speech for you all, mainly because I don't want to keep stopping for every line. Also, this is my first attempt at doing a valedictorian speech.

Chiyoko's **Valedictory**:

As any one of these fine people behind me will tell you, following your dreams is important. Another important thing to remember is that you should _never ever _give up on yourself. I learned that myself when I was growing up. When I was a little girl in primary school, I was _extremely _shy and I thought because I was so quiet I thought no one would ever noticed that I existed. And it's kind of a funny story, but back then it was not much of an exaggeration to say I was scared of _my own shadow_ at times (she and the rest of the audience laugh). But because I learned to never give up, I have since made many friends.

Do you know how I learned that? Well, it was mostly from my best friend, Mariko Aratani, whom I have the great honor of having known her ever since we started kindergarten. That was way back in April of 1996, I think it was. Anyway, she was really the one who helped give me the courage to make friends, and the confidence to stand out amongst my classmates. She told me that the real thing to do to make friends is to just relax about the whole thing. We and a few other girls have a band together now called the "Red Roses and Blue Violets". I play keyboards for the band and I'm one of the two lead vocalists.

If I was still in primary school, I always had some form of panic attack before I would do something like a presentation to my classmates. And that leads to another important thing one should never forget. Always believe in yourself. That was another thing I learned along the way, with some major help from my dear friend Mariko, of course. She was the one who told me to, quote, "always believe in myself and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something", unquote. If it hadn't been for her, I would almost certainly still be that shy meek and quiet child who never gets noticed, and I probably wouldn't even be up here today talking to you all.

I guess the whole point of what I'm trying to make here is. Actually well I have a few points I want you all to remember even after this day is over. The first is to never give up and never give in. The second is to believe in yourself and not to let anyone tell you that you can't do something. And the third and final point I am making is to always keep your friends close and that they're always willing to help when they have a chance to. And that concludes my valedictory. Arigato gozaimasu. (applause and cheering from the audience).

_End of speech._

After she finished speaking, Chiyoko headed back to her seat. Mariko threw her arms around her friend and lifted her up into the air, as she called out, "I told you you'd do great!". "Thank you but could you please put me down?", Chiyoko protested. "Oh sorry about that", Mariko apolgized, "I forgot you don't usually like that". "Well, it's not like I didn't appreciate the gesture, but there are too many people here right now", Chiyoko explained, blushing heavily, "No offense, but you really do embarrass me sometimes, even if you don't mean it".

"Well, again, I apologize, my dear friend", Mariko answered, patting her friend's head (rather hard). "Mariko, don't do that!", Chiyoko complained, "I'm short enough as it is!". "I'm sorry about that Chiyoko", Mariko admitted, "It's just that you're so damn cute that I couldn't resist". Upon hearing Mariko's comment, Chiyoko turned an even deeper shade of red. "But again, I really am sorry", Mariko continued, "I should have asked first". "Geez, you're always so impulsive", Chiyoko sighed, "But I know you mean well. I apologize for snapping at you". "Oh hey it's all right", Mariko assured her, "I understand how you get sometimes".

What Mariko means by this is that Chiyoko can be a bit of a tsundere at times. As I have said in Chapter 11 of my second fanfic "Holiday Vacation", Chiyoko is more of a Type B rather than a Type A. This means that she has sweet and loving as her default mood. However she can have her cold and stern moments from time to time. I think that this was one of her rare tsun-tsun moments.

* * *

><p><strong>3:00 pm<strong>

Later on that day, after having gotten their diplomas, Mariko and Chiyoko went out to celebrate their accomplishment. They had changed out of their kimonos and into more practical clothes. Mariko had on a blue sweater, green jeans, white over knee socks and gray sneakers, and her shoulder length red hair was done in a side ponytail held with a blue ribbon. Chiyoko had on a pink sweater, red dress, black thigh high stockings and white high heeled pumps, and her ankle length brown hair was done in pigtails held together with two red ribbons.

"Chiyoko, my friend, now that we've gotten our diplomas, what should we do?", Mariko asked. "Well Mariko, why don't we try out that new ice cream place downtown", Chiyoko suggested. "That's a Super Ultra Great Delicious Wonderful idea!", Mariko cheered. "All right, then let's go and splurge on something huge and delicious!", Chiyoko agreed. And with that, they got in their cars and drove to the new ice cream shop.

Once they got there, they got in line and eventually were directed to a little table. "Good afternoon, ladies", the waitress greeted, "May I take your order?". "You certainly can, we just came from our college graduation", Mariko told her. "And we're in the mood for something giant and delectable", Chiyoko explained, "What do you suggest?". "Well, we have a 20 scoop sundae topped with all sorts of toppings", the waitress answered. "20 scoops? Hell yeah!", Mariko cheered. "Sure, what the heck, we'll order that!", Chiyoko concurred. "All right I'll get that right out to you two", the waitress replied. About 10 minutes later, she came back with the huge tub of ice cream sundae and placed it on the table. The two girls ended up demolishing the tub in about 25 minutes.

After they finished, they started reminiscing on days gone by. "You know, Mariko, this kind of reminds me of the day that we first met", Chiyoko noted, "Do you still remember that day?". "Boy do I ever, Chiyoko", Mariko answered, "In fact, I still remember it as if it happened just yesterday". And now folks is where we start the flashback.

* * *

><p><em>Start of Flashback<em>

**Monday April 8, 1996, 8:00 am**

It was a bright and sunny April morning. It was also the first day of classes at Higashimurayama Elementary School (東村山市小学校). A 1994 Toyota Corolla pulled up to the front of the school. Mariko opened the door and came out of the car, and by that I mean she cartwheeled out the door. She had on a pink dress, white nylons, black Mary Janes, and she had a huge pink ribbon in her waist length red hair. Ms. Aratani called out, "Have a good day at school, Mariko!". "I will, Mama!", Mariko called out to her mother as she skipped along the sidewalk and into the school.

She had a good reason to be excited. Today was the first day of kindergarten for the 5 year old. Since Mariko had gotten to school early (classes started at 8:30 am), she had time to play on the playground before classes would officially start. She hopped onto the roundabout (spinning wheel) while two boys spun the wheel spinning all of them around. While she was spinning around, Mariko noticed another girl, probably no older than 3, sitting down on one of the benches with a book in her hand. She quickly brought the ride to a halt, sending the two boys on with her flying over the wheel's bars and onto the sand. "Oops, sorry about that!", she apologized.

"Hmmm, she looks a little young to be starting kindergarten", Mariko thought to herself. She did look kind of young. Her brown hair, which was done in braided pigtails with two pink ribbons, reached all the way down to the ground. Her eyes were as blue as the sky and quite big as well. And above all she was very short, probably no more than 80 centimeters (or 2 feet 7.4 inches). Another thing that was noticeable was her uniform. She wore a baby blue dress, a white short sleeved blouse, black thigh high nylon stockings and white strap on dress shoes.

Mariko made her way to the girl and introduced herself. "Hello, my name's Mariko Aratani (荒谷 真理子)", she explained, "What's your name?". "Oh O-**Ohayo**, m-my n-name is Chiyoko Sakamoto (坂本 千代子)", the girl said to her rather nervously and with a blush on her face. "It's great to meet you, Chiyoko", Mariko cheered, "So why are you sitting here all by yourself?". "Well Mariko, the truth is...I'm too nervous", Chiyoko admitted, "I'm afraid that people might not like me". "Don't worry, Chiyoko, I'll help you make friends", Mariko assured her. "Really, you'll help me, Mariko?", Chiyoko wondered. "Of course I will", Mariko beamed, "I'm sure you won't need much help".

With that, Chiyoko wrapped her arms around Mariko and the latter returned the favor. "Thank you very much", Chiyoko whispered. "It's my pleasure", Mariko answered patting her friend's head, "You know I can see this turning into a beautiful friendship". "I'm certain that you're right on that response", Chiyoko replied. "By the way, aren't you a little young to be in kindergarten", Mariko asked. "I'm actually 4 and a half years old", Chiyoko answered rather annoyed, "I was born on September 1, 1991, I'm just short by nature". "So that means you're less than a year younger than me", Mariko noticed, "I'm almost 5 and a half, I was born on December 2, 1990".

"Usually I'd figure someone would call me a shortie", Chiyoko chimed in, "Thank you for not calling me that, Mariko". "I would never make fun of a friend", Mariko answered, "I especially wouldn't make fun of you, Chiyoko".

_End of flashback_

* * *

><p><strong>Flashforward back to March 27, 2012<strong>

"Ah yes, that was a great day", Mariko noted. "Yes, and here we are, almost 16 years later, talking about it", Chiyoko agreed. Just then, two boys walked up to the girls. The two boys were actually Mariko and Chiyoko's boyfriends. Their names are Katsuhiko Takahashi (高橋 克彦) and Fumihiko Takemoto (竹本 文彦). Like Mariko and Chiyoko, Katsuhiko and Fumihiko have been friends for years, despite the differences between them.

For instance, Katsuhiko, who is Mariko's boyfriend, is what you'd call a Keet, the definition of which is literally a Genki Guy. He has somewhat long jet black hair, sleek gray eyes, and stands 168 cm tall (or 5 feet 6.1 inches). On the other hand, Fumihiko, who is Chiyoko's boyfriend, is much more mature and reserved. He has short dark brown hair, forest green eyes, stands 162 cm tall (or 5 feet 3.8 inches) and wears glasses therefore making him a **megane**.

"Hi there, girls!", Katsuhiko blurted out excitedly. "What are you two talking about?", Fumihiko asked politely. "Oh, well, Chiyoko and I were just reminscing on days gone by", Mariko told them. "We were just talking about the day that Mariko and I first met", Chiyoko added. "Ah that's right you two have been friends for a long time", Katsuhiko remembered. "How long have the two of you been friends exactly", Fumihiko wondered.

"In a couple of weeks, it will be 16 years", Mariko answered. "I still can't believe our friendship has lasted this long", Chiyoko chimed in. "16 years? Damn!", Katsuhiko exclaimed. "That's quite a long time, and no harm has been done", Fumihiko concurred. The guys then picked up their girls off of the ground and kissed them on the lips. And by that I mean, like in that picture of an American soldier who had just come home from World War 2 and kissing his girlfriend in the street. Look it up and I'm sure you'll find it.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **May 22, 2012**

**Valedictory **- a speech performed at a graduation ceremony. It is usually presented by the valedictorian themselves or in some cases, another student leader. Generally, it's considered the final farewell to the classmateds.

**Sendai City Gymnasium **- located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It opened in 1984 and has a seating capacity of 5,705 spectators.

**Ohayo **- the Japanese term for "good morning"

**Megane **- the Japanese term for "guys with glasses"


	24. More Memories and Easter Sunday

Note: This chapter will continue on with the Mariko & Chiyoko flashback arc. This chapter will have the flashbacks take up more of the actual story. Also this chapter will most likely go down as one of the longest chapters to date, if not _the_ longest chapter of the story.

One more note: I apologize for the fact that it has been taking me so long to upload these chapters. I just lose track of time _a lot_, I'll admit. I'll try not to take as long in uploading Chapter 25 though. So again, I apologize for taking so long in uploading Chapter 24, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday March 30, 2012, 6:28 am<strong>

The day after their graduation from Tohoku University, the girls moved to a new apartment in Tokyo. Of course, they slept in separate rooms. On Friday the 30th, Mariko woke up and got dressed in her room. She walked out of her room and was surprised to discover that Chiyoko apparently wasn't awake yet. "That's odd", she thought to herself, "She'd normally be awake by now". So after she got dressed (throwing on a red sweater, brown pants, white knee socks, and gray sneakers) she went to her friend's room and found her laying on her bed, already dressed, and coughing and sniffling.

"Hey Chiyoko, are you all right?", Mariko asked, "You don't look so good". "I don't feel so well either", Chiyoko admitted. She sounded really stuffed up and her voice was a bit hoarse. Mariko then put her hand on Chiyoko's forehead. "Oh man, you're burning up", she exclaimed, "Come on, get dressed". "Why do I have to get dressed?", Chiyoko demanded. "Because I'm taking you to the doctor", Mariko answered. So with that, Chiyoko quickly threw on a green sweater, blue jeans, black mid thigh stockings and white sneakers. Once she did that she followed her friend downstairs to the car, but she felt so light-headed that it was hard to keep up.

* * *

><p><strong>7:12 am<strong>

After about a half hour drive, the girls made it to Tokyo Medical Center's (東京医療センター) general clinic. They waited for about 15 minutes before being called into the doctor's office. Not long after that, a young woman walked into the room. "Good morning, Miss Sakamoto. I'm Dr. Yamada", she greeted, "So what seems to be the problem?". "I woke up this morning and I felt physically terrible", Chiyoko answered, clearing her throat the best she could. "Well, do you have any symptoms?", Dr. Yamada asked. "Well, my head is pounding, my muscles are throbbing, my throat's so sore I can barely swallow, and I'm so stuffed up I can't even breathe through my nose", Chiyoko explained, before setting off a chain of sneezes (though they were so small you could barely notice them).

"She's burning up too", Mariko added, "I felt her head before we came and it felt really hot and she said she felt really dizzy as we were walking to the car". "Well, Miss Sakamoto, I'll have to ask you to hold still while I take your temperature", Dr. Yamada instructed as she placed a digital thermometer in her patient's right ear. A few seconds later, the results were in. "Hmmm, 40.2 Centigrade (104.36 degrees Fahrenheit)", she mumbled to herself. After she further examined her patient (checking the eyes (bloodshot), ears (hard to pop), nose (stuffed up) and throat (red as a lobster)), she stated, "Well, it seems to me that you've caught a rather serious case of influenza combined with the common cold".

"What would you recommend to help me get better?", Chiyoko wondered. "I'm going to write you a prescription for some medication", Dr. Yamada explained, "Also, make absolutely sure that you get plenty of rest and also be sure that you stay hydrated". "Good, we'll remember that", Mariko answered back, "All right, looks like you're all set, my friend". "Thank you, Doctor", the two girls concluded in unison. Dr. Yamada nodded and replied, "You're both very welcome".

* * *

><p><strong>8:22 am<strong>

After getting the prescriptions that Dr. Yamada had authorized, Mariko & Chiyoko returned to their apartment. "You know, Chiyoko", Mariko inserted, "Going to the hospital reminded me a bit of a certain memory from our childhood". "You mean back when you broke your arm, Mariko?", Chiyoko wondered, "I still remember that day very well". "Why did I ever climb that damn tree?", Mariko asked. "Well, you were young and you had no sense of fear", Chiyoko answered, as she blew her nose into a tissue.

"I take it you still remember it too", Mariko stated. "Yes, I _just said_ that", Chiyoko sighed. "I would have made it back down if that branch didn't snap", Mariko lamented. "I know, I know", Chiyoko assured, patting her friend on the shoulder. And this is where we start the next flashback sequence.

* * *

><p><em>Start of Next Flashback<em>

**Wednesday December 30, 1998, 3:20 pm**

On a late December afternoon during their Christmas break, Mariko and Chiyoko were at the playground in **Kitayama Park **(北山公園). By the way, since Mr. and Mrs. Sakamoto were out for the day, Mrs. Aratani had volunteered to babysit their daughter. This was almost 3 years after Mariko and Chiyoko had first met. Mariko was now 8 years old having celebrated her birthday on December 2nd (making her a **Sagittarius**). Chiyoko was now 7 years old having become that age on September 1st (making her a **Virgo**). By this point, they were in 2nd grade, and would enter 3rd grade in April of 1999.

Anyway, Mariko had decided to climb to the top of the tallest tree in the park, despite Chiyoko trying to talk her out of it. "Pardon my french, Mariko, but you've lost your mind!", Chiyoko protested, "You're going to end up hurting yourself!". "Now, now, Chiyoko, that is utter nonsense", Mariko countered, "I've done this before and made it". "All right, fine, but _please _be careful!", Chiyoko sighed. "Don't worry", Mariko assured, "Careful is my middle name". And with that, she started climbing up the tree at close to breakneck speed.

"What in the world?", Chiyoko thought to herself, "That's _not _being careful! That's nowhere _close _to being careful!". So anyway, Mariko was climbing so fast that within 60 seconds she was almost at the top of the tree. "All right, I'm almost there", she said in her head, "Just a few more meters!". Within another 30 seconds, she was all the way at the top which was about 20 meters (or 65 feet and 7.4 inches) above the ground.

As soon as she reached the top, Mariko shouted, "Hey Chiyoko, I've reached the top!". Hearing this, Chiyoko looked up and answered nervously, "That's great, Mariko. Now will you please come down before you hurt yourself?". With that, Mariko started the long climb down. About 5 meters (or 16 feet and 4.8 inches) from the ground, she ran into a problem. "AAAAHH! BIG SPIDER!", Mariko screamed. "Calm down! Don't panic!", Chiyoko advised. "But I'm really REALLY scared of spiders!", Mariko whimpered, as she started backing up on a branch.

"Look out! That branch is about to give way!", Chiyoko shouted. "What did you say?", Mariko asked. By that point, it was too late. The branch gave way and the poor girl fell off, hitting her right arm on another branch on the way down. When Mariko hit the ground, Chiyoko heard a sickening cracking sound. "Oh no! That sound _can't_ be good!", she thought to herself as she rushed over to where her friend had fallen.

When Chiyoko reached the scene, she found Mariko sitting on the ground, crying and holding her right arm. Apparently, when she hit the ground, she had landed right on her arm. "Oh my god, Mariko!", Chiyoko sputtered, "What happened?". "I-I think I b-broke my arm", Mariko sobbed, "It h-hurts r-really bad!". "H-Hold on, I-I'll go get your mother. She'll know what to do!", Chiyoko stammered as she ran to a nearby bench, "Mrs. Aratani! Mrs. Aratani! Come quick! Something's happened!".

"What's wrong, Chiyoko-chan?", Mrs. Aratani wondered. "Mariko's gotten hurt! You need to come quick!", Chiyoko shrieked, pulling the woman's hand as she ran back to where Mariko had fallen. "What happened to you, Mariko?", Mrs. Aratani asked her daughter. "I-I fell out of the t-tree and I think I broke m-my arm", Mariko whimpered with tears streaming down her face. "Oh no, your arm is bleeding!", Chiyoko realized. "WHAT?", Mariko screamed, "You mean I'm bleeding?".

"Oh my, you _are _bleeding, dear", Mrs. Aratani answered, "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital". And with that, she placed her daughter in her arms and helped her into the back seat of the car. As soon as Mariko was safely buckled in, Chiyoko hopped in next to her friend and buckled herself into the booster seat (remember she's still really short). Once everyone was in, Mrs. Aratani pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>4:02 pm<strong>

After a 25 minute drive, the Toyota Corolla made it to **Hirasawa Memorial Hospital **(平沢記念病院) which was only about 7.5 kilometers (or about 4.7 miles) away from Kitayama Park. Inside the hospital, Mrs. Aratani checked her daughter in at the reception desk. Meanwhile, Chiyoko did her best to calm Mariko down.

"There there Mariko", Chiyoko assured putting her arm around her friend, "No need to be scared. These doctors know what they're doing". "I know that, Chiyoko", Mariko whimpered, "I really hope they can fix my arm, because it hurts really bad". Chiyoko got out a tissue and wiped Mariko's big brown eyes with them. She thought to herself, "I wish you would have listened to me about climbing that stupid tree! Now look what's happened to you". After a few minutes a man came out with a wheelchair to take Mariko to the Radiation Department to get an X-ray of her arm.

A few minutes after that, the results of the X-ray came in. It turned out Mariko had a impacted (ends driven into each other) fracture of her right arm, and a 3 centimeter deep cut on that arm. "So what do we do now?", Mrs. Aratani asked. "We'll have to fix her cut with stitches", the doctor explained, "And then we'll have to put a cast on her arm so that it can heal".

* * *

><p><strong>7:08 pm<strong>

After a few hours, Mariko's arm was all fixed up, and by fixed up I mean in a cast and a sling. "Well, my arm looks a lot better than it did a few hours ago", Mariko noted. "I still wish you hadn't climbed that tree though", Mrs. Aratani sighed. "That the same thing I was saying to her", Chiyoko agreed. By now, it had been dark for a couple of hours. "Come on Chiyoko, let's get you home", Mrs. Aratani said, "I'm sure your mom and dad are getting worried". After they got in the car, they started driving back to Higashimurayama.

About 25 minutes later, they arrived at Chiyoko's house. It was a rather big building located on 246 Tanigawa Avenue (246 谷川 アベニュー). The car pulled to a stop in front of the house. Mrs. Aratani honked the horn to get the attention of Mr. and Mrs. Sakamoto. They came out and saw the car in the drive. "Good evening, Emiko-san", Reiko (Chiyoko's mother) greeted. "Hello again, Reiko", Emiko replied, "I came to bring Chiyoko back".

"We were starting to worry a bit?", Takuya (Chiyoko's father) admitted, "Where were you?". "Well Father, Mariko broke her arm today", Chiyoko told him, "And we had to go to the hospital". "Oh I'm so sorry to hear about that", Reiko apologized. "Oh, don't worry, it'll heal", Mariko assured her. "It'll be better in a few weeks".

_End of Flashback_

* * *

><p><strong>Flashforward back to March 30, 2012<strong>

"And I learned my lesson after that", Mariko answered, "Never climb up a 20 meter tree and fall off a few meters from the ground". "You mean don't risk your life over something stupid like pride!", Chiyoko reiterated. "Well, that too", Mariko admitted. "I just hope you won't do anything stupid like that again!", Chiyoko scolded. "Oh don't worry, I told you I learned my lesson", Mariko assured her. "Good, now that matter is settled", Chiyoko sighed.

Later on, while Chiyoko was laying in bed and resting, Mariko came in with a little photo album. "What's that thing?", Chiyoko asked. "The photo album of when we took that trip to New York City", Mariko answered back. "You mean the one we took back in 2001?", Chiyoko wondered. "Yeah, that was only a couple of months before 9/11", Mariko confirmed. "I still remember that trip extremely well, like it just happened", Chiyoko answered.

* * *

><p><em>Start of Next Flashback<em>

**Friday July 6, 2001, 2:46 pm**

About 2 and a half years after the previous flashback, Mariko & Chiyoko were in New York City with their parents, for part of their summer vacation. They had just gotten out for the summer on Friday June 29th. They would be out of school until September 3rd. At this point in time, Mariko was now 10 years and 7 months old, while Chiyoko was now 9 years and 10 months old.

At that time in New York, the 2 families were inside the World Trade Center (the South Tower to be exact), on their way to the Top of the World observation deck on the 107th floor. The elevator was REALLY fast, they managed to get from the bottom floor to the top floor in just over a minute. "Hey we're here", Emiko announced. "This elevator sure was fast", Reiko noted. "I told you these elevators can really move", Takuya boasted. "You were right, Takuya", Masaya (Mariko's father) answered.

With that, the group went up one more flight of stairs to the outdoor deck. "Wow, this is amazing!", Emiko gasped. "You can see all of Manhattan from up here", Masaya noted. "I've never been this high up before", Reiko quivered. "Don't worry about it, dear. You'll be all right", Takuya explained to her.

Meanwhile, Mariko and Chiyoko were admiring the view themselves. "This is absolutely incredible!", Mariko sputtered. "You can see everything in New York City from up here", Chiyoko concurred. "How high are we anyway?", Mariko asked. "We are exactly 1,362 feet above Manhattan at this moment", Chiyoko answered.

"What are those two tall buildings way over there?", Mariko wondered. "Well, the one with that shiny spire is the Chrysler Building", Chiyoko answered, "And the other one that almost looks like a pencil is the Empire State Building". "Wow, you really can see everything from way up here!", Mariko gushed. "Yes, you certainly can, sometimes I've read that you can see into New Jersey", Chiyoko noted.

It's hard to believe that less than 10 weeks later, the World Trade Center would be gone.

_End of Flashback_

* * *

><p><strong>Flashforward to Sunday April 8, 2012, 10:30 am<strong>

A few days later, on Easter Sunday, Mariko and Chiyoko were preparing to go out with their boyfriends for a date. Mariko had on a blue dress, a pink short sleeved blouse, white thigh high stockings, and black Mary Janes, and her shoulder length red hair was done in a braided ponytail held with a pink ribbon. Chiyoko had on a pink dress, an orange short sleeved blouse, black thigh high stockings, and white Mary Janes, and her ankle length brown hair was all the way down for a change, only having a red ribbon in her hair.

"Wow, Chiyoko, you actually look beautiful", Mariko noticed. "I do?", Chiyoko asked, "Well thank you Mariko. And you look good too". "Really? Well, thanks Chiyoko", Mariko answered, blushing a bit. "You really do look good you know", Chiyoko confirmed. Just then they heard a knock on their door. "Oh that must be the guys now!", Mariko realized. "Well, let's answer the door then", Chiyoko concurred.

As soon as they opened the door, they saw Katsuhiko and Fumihiko waiting outside the door. Both men looked dashing in their tuxedos. Katsuhiko's tuxedo was in a blue color, with a white shirt and a red tie. Fumihiko's tuxedo was in a brown color, with a gray shirt and a black tie. The two young men were also holding bouqets of flowers which they handed to their girlfriends.

"Boy I tell you you two girls are looking pretty damn fine!", Katsuhiko exclaimed. "Well thank you very much", Mariko replied back. "Gee, you really do look nice this morning", Fumihiko complimented turning to his girlfriend. "Do you really mean it?", Chiyoko asked, blushing heavily. "Yes I really mean it", Fumihiko confirmed, blushing as well. "Well, t-thank you v-very much.", Chiyoko stuttered. "Aw, now look at that", Katsuhiko noticed, "Interaction between two shy introverts at work". "That is one of the most adorable things I've seen today", Mariko agreed.

After a few seconds, the two shy young lovers got their act together. "Well, if we don't hurry we'll be late", Fumihiko announced. "Late? For what?", Chiyoko wondered. "You see, we've made a reservation for that new brunch place downtown", Katsuhiko answered. "That sounds extravagant", Mariko replied.

"Don't worry, we'll pay for everything", Katsuhiko explained. "We have it all under control", Fumihiko added. "Well, in that case let's get going!", Mariko exclaimed. "Sure thing, let's go", Chiyoko agreed. And with that, the group walked out of the apartment. After they were out, they hopped in Katsuhiko's 2008 Lexus IS-250 sedan and drove off.

* * *

><p><strong>4:30 pm<strong>

Later on, after spending a few hours at the downtown brunch place, the four young lovers went to the **United Cinemas Toshimaen **theater to see **The Artist**. When the movie started, there were a total of 30 people in the room. The movie started at about 2:30 pm, after about 15 or 20 minutes of previews. By the time the movie was over it was about 4:15 pm. After they got out, the four were talking about the movie.

"Well, the film was actually pretty darn good", Katsuhiko commented, "Especially for a black and white silent film". "Not just good, _extremely_ good", Fumihiko concurred, "I now can see why it won Best Picture at the Oscars a few weeks ago". "There weren't too many people in there though", Mariko remembered, "A lot less than I thought there would be". "Yes, I think there were about 30 people in the room", Chiyoko chimed in, "But at least they know a good film when they see it".

Not long after that, the two boys wrapped their arms around their girlfriends and kissed them passionately on the lips. That's a sight that you wouldn't be able to ignore.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **June 12, 2012**

**Sagittarius **- If you were born between November 23rd and December 21st, this is your zodiac sign. The symbol for Sagittarius is The Archer (not the TV show on FX, but a centaur (a half man half horse) with a bow and arrow aimed towards the sky). Personality wise, Sagittarians are usually forever optimistic, honest to a fault, outgoing, and love adventure and travel.

**Virgo **- If you were born between August 23rd and September 22nd, this is your zodiac sign. The symbol for Virgo is a virgin maiden. Personality wise, Virgos are usually creative and skilled introverts, are renowned for their social graces and courteousness, and love being independent.

**Kitayama Park **- a real life park located in Higashimurayama, Tokyo. I don't know if they have a playground or not, but they _are _known for having a very pretty Iris Garden.

**Hirasawa Memorial Hospital **- a real life hospital located in Tokorozawa, Saitama.

**The Artist **- a 2011 French romantic comedy/drama in the style of a black and white silent film. It won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, and has made $133.4 million worldwide.

**United Cinemas Toshimaen **- a real life 9 screen (1,907 seats) movie theater located in Nerima-ku, Tokyo. It opened on Tuesday September 7, 2004.


	25. In the Park and Even More Memories

Note: This chapter will conclude the Mariko and Chiyoko flashback arc. Make sure you read to the end of this chapter to see what's next for this fanfic. Thanks for your support and please don't forget to leave a review.

One last note: Again, since I've been making the chapters longer and longer, this chapter will end up being one of the longest chapters of the story to date, if not the longest chapter of the story to date.

* * *

><p><strong>Friday May 25, 2012, 4:00 pm<strong>

It was a beautiful spring day in Tokyo. After they had gotten home from work, Mariko and Chiyoko decided to go out to the park to meet their boyfriends. Just to clarify things a bit, on Monday April 16th, the two girls started working at their new jobs. Mariko had taken a job working as a 1st grade student teacher at the **Higashi-Jujo Elementary School **(東十条 小学校). Chiyoko had earned the position of working as a 2nd grade student teacher at the **Toshima Wakaba Elementary School** (としま若葉 小学校).

Anyone who remembers Chapter 9 will probably know that Mariko & Chiyoko were studying at Tohoku University to become student teachers. But with this point now made, I digress. Now, getting back to the story. So anyway, the two girls got out of their work clothes and into something more casual. Mariko put on a pink spaghetti strap tanktop (that also showed her midriff), short blue jean shorts, and white sneakers. Chiyoko put on a blue T-shirt over a white tanktop, a light brown skirt and black strap on sandals, revealing the red-orange nail polish on her toenails.

"So are you ready to go?", Chiyoko asked. "Just let me get the tennis rackets out of the closet", Mariko answered. As she was about to open the closet, her friend warned her, "Wait a minute! That's the messy closet!". "Oh come on, how messy could it be?", she wondered. The answer came as soon as she opened the door and everything came crashing hilariously down on top of her.

"Oh no! Mariko, are you all right?", Chiyoko sputtered. "Don't worry, Chiyoko. I'm fine", Mariko explained, "But I'm really starting to hate slapstick". "Well, are you _sure_ you're all right?", Chiyoko asked again. "Yeah, I even got the tennis rackets out of there", Mariko answered back. "Well, then let's go", Chiyoko asserted, "We'll just clean it up when we get back". "Good idea, let's head down", Mariko concurred. And with that they exited the apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>4:30 pm<strong>

Well anyway, the two girls were walking from the apartment. But right across the street from the park, they were blocked by a man wearing a ski mask and brandishing what at first glance looked like a knife. "All right! Give me all your money!", the man bellowed. Now Chiyoko did exactly that, preparing to get her money out and hand it to the big scary man. However, Mariko noticed that the knife wasn't a knife at all. In fact, it was just the long end of a spoon (God! What an idiot!).

With that, she charged at the douchebag and blurted, "Aw hell no! Not on my watch, bub!". He tried to use his "knife" to stab his intended victim but it did absolutely nothing. "His knife is fake! It's just a spoon handle!", Mariko shouted as she jumped on top of the guy. "What? Why you stupid pathetic waste-loid!", Chiyoko growled as she too jumped on their assailant. And so, these two cute young ladies were fighting back against this big dumb excuse for a burglar. Obviously, the old scumbag didn't know what to do at this point. And it was about to get even worse for him.

Having been alerted by their girlfriends' shouting, Katsuhiko and Fumihiko dashed across the 4-lane street (on the crosswalk of course), dodging cars rushing by them. With a final jump, they tackled the twat onto the ground and held him down, while Mariko and Chiyoko rushed to the payphone to call 119. Within a few minutes, the police were there and they took the guy into custody. "I can't believe it, foiled by a couple of girls and their friends", he grumbled as one of the officers handcuffed him and another officer shoved him into the back of the squad car.

As they drove off, the two boys shook their heads. "Man, talk about a pathetic excuse of a man", Katsuhiko noted. "Who tries to rob someone with something so primitive as a spoon handle", Fumihiko concurred. "Anyway, are you two all right?", Katsuhiko asked, turning to the girls. "That's what I'm wondering as well", Fumihiko added.

"Don't you two worry, we're both just fine", Mariko assured them. "As soon as we knew it was just a spoon handle, we started fighting back", Chiyoko interjected. "Good for you two!", Katsuhiko exclaimed. "Way to show him who was boss", Fumihiko chimed in. "I don't know how much longer we could have held him off though", Mariko explained. "Good thing you two came along and held that stupid idiot down", Chiyoko agreed. "Well, it was our duty of course", Katsuhiko answered. "We saw you two were in trouble and felt we had to do something", Fumihiko added.

* * *

><p><strong>4:45 pm<strong>

Soon after they got in the park, the quartet set up a net to play tennis, since the girls had brought the tennis rackets and the tennis balls. "Are you ready for this, Chiyoko", Mariko asked her friend. "I guess so Mariko", Chiyoko answered back, "As long as I don't get hit in the face with anything".

But as it turns out, that hope proved to be farfetched. Not only did Chiyoko get hit, she got hit a total of **eight** **times** (twice in the head, four times in the stomach, and twice in the chest), though rarely very hard. After the eighth time, Mariko decided that it was time for them to end the tennis match. "What? You mean the game's over already?", Katsuhiko protested. "I didn't think that it would end that soon", Fumihiko concurred, adjusting his glasses.

"Are you all right, Chiyoko?", Mariko asked, clearly concerned about her friend. "Yes, I'm fine", Chiyoko told her, "I guess I just suck at tennis". "Why don't we try volleyball instead?", Mariko suggested. "Well, all right. I'll try my best", Chiyoko answered. "I've got the volleyball right here", Katsuhiko called out. "Then volleyball, it is", Fumihiko interjected.

However, during the first game, Chiyoko got hit in the face with the ball twice rather hard, and one of those times was by her own boyfriend (accidentally of course). "Oh my god, Chiyoko!", Fumihiko sputtered, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you!". "Don't worry, I'll be fine in a minute or two", Chiyoko answered back, wiping her eyes. "Damn! You gave her quite a hit there, dude!", Katsuhiko commented. "Now now, I'm sure he didn't mean to hit her", Mariko insisted.

I might not have said this but apparently Chiyoko can't play most sports, even if her life depended on it. Whenever she plays something that involves a ball, a lot of times the ball heads straight for her and hits her in either the head or the abdomen. You could say that she is a ball magnet (Something about that statement didn't sound right). And in something like running, she'd usually end up tripping or similarily falling onto the ground. Or in one particularly embarrassing incident, taking several runners with her as she fell.

Luckily, it only took a few minutes for her to regain her composure and the game restarted. She ended up getting a little better with each game. Arguably, the best moment was when she jumped up and finally managed to hit the ball over the net (after about sixteen tries), even though she faceplanted onto the sand right after. "All right, you did it!", Mariko cheered. "Wait, you mean I hit it over the net?", Chiyoko wondered, geniunely surprised. "Yeah, and you girls scored a point too", Katsuhiko answered back. "That was a very good save on your part", Fumihiko agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm<strong>

A little while later, Katsuhiko and Fumihiko left the park to get something for the group to have to eat. You see, the quartet had decided to have a little outdoor picnic. And it was actually a very nice day for it. They had told the girls that there was a new take out restaurant downtown, and that they would be back in about a half hour. The boys had asked Mariko and Chiyoko if they had wanted to come along, but the girls politely declined. Besides there were people all over the park now. This would help make the possibility of being robbed go way down.

So while they were gone, Mariko and Chiyoko set up the blanket that they would all sit on. Once that was set up, they sat down and got comfortable. "You know this is nice, being outdoors like this", Chiyoko noted, as she gently undid the straps from her sandals and removed them. "I know what you mean, it's such a nice day today", Mariko agreed as she untied her sneakers and took them off, revealing the dark red nail polish on her toenails.

"By the way, Mariko. Facing that guy today made me think of something", Chiyoko chimed in. "Oh really, Chiyoko. Well, what did it make you think of?", Mariko wondered. "That time back in 6th grade when that bully was picking on me and you", Chiyoko answered. "Yes, I still remember that", Mariko replied.

* * *

><p><em>Start of Next Flashback<em>

**Tuesday June 4, 2002, 12:00 pm**

It was a very nice late spring day at Higashimurayama Elementary School. By this point in time, Mariko and Chiyoko were in the sixth grade. The former was now 11 years and 6 months old. The latter was now 10 years and 9 months old. Anyway, that day the two were eating lunch outside. However at that time, 3 girls in the same grade as them came up to them looking to cause some trouble.

"Hey look everyone! It's the little nerdy girl!", one of them shouted as she pointed at Chiyoko, "I mean, glasses _and _braces together on one face? Hello! Total geekwad!". Just to clarify things a bit, by this point, Chiyoko had to start wearing glasses because of her vision. Not to mention that her teeth had become crooked, so she had to wear braces too. Unfortunately, this meant that the poor girl had several people teasing her because of it.

"Hey come on, geek!", the leader yelled while pulling hard on one of her victim's pigtails, "Say something! Don't you disrespect me!". By now, the poor little girl had tears in her eyes. At this point, Mariko had seen and heard enough. "Hey leave her alone!", Mariko shouted, "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?". "Oh yeah, well you're one to talk, you stupid idiot!", the second girl blurted out.

"What did you just say to my friend?", Chiyoko demanded, suddenly very angry. "She said, that your friend is an idiot!", the third girl boasted. "Oh that's it! You can insult me all you want! But when you insult Mariko, that's when something hits the fan!", Chiyoko shouted. "Oh yeah? So what are _you _going to do about it?", the first girl dared. "Mariko, do you care to give me a hand?", Chiyoko asked. "With pleasure, Chiyoko", Mariko answered.

Next thing you know, the five girls were punching and kicking each other. But as it turns out, the three bullies were all talk, as the two good girls somehow managed to beat them handily, with several punches to the face each. As the three ran away, the leader yelled to her henchgirls, "Not a word of this to anyone! Understood?".

"Oh boy, that actually felt really good", Chiyoko admitted. "Not good, frigging brilliant!", Mariko corrected, "I've never seen you stand up to someone like that before". "Well, they called you an idiot", Chiyoko explained, "And I know for a fact, that while you're no genius, you're certainly NOT an idiot". "It's the same thing with them calling you a nerd", Mariko answered, "I can't stand that".

"But from now on, let's agree not to use violence anymore", Chiyoko suggested. "Good idea. Only use force when it's absolutely neccessary", Mariko agreed.

_End of Flashback_

* * *

><p>Note: I should mention once again that violence is NOT the answer to something like this in real life. I just wanted something to help the girls stand up to those bullies. If you are ever bullied, go and tell a responsible adult <span>immediately<span>.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashforward back to May 25, 2012<strong>

"And from that day on, we never used violence again", Mariko interjected. "Yes, we only used force when it was absolutely positively neccessary", Chiyoko concurred. "I really don't like to fight against someone", Mariko admitted, "No matter how mad they make me get". "I totally agree with you", Chiyoko added, "I'm not a very good fighter anyway".

So anyway, a few minutes after that, the two boys returned holding a giant pizza box. "We're back!", Katsuhiko announced, "I hope you girls are hungry". "We ordered the biggest pizza on the menu", Fumihiko explained, "It's got absolutely everything on it". "Oh boy, that sounds delicious", Mariko chimed in. "It does sound very appetizing", Chiyoko agreed.

As they set the box down, the boys noticed the blanket on the ground. "Oh, you girls set up the blanket already?", Katsuhiko wondered. "Yeah, we did that right after you left", Mariko answered. "Well, now this is absolutely perfect", Fumihiko noted. "Well, thank you very much", Chiyoko replied back. So with that, the group sat down and started eating. Despite its size the group finished it within a half hour.

A little while later, the group was walking around the park, admiring the nighttime scenery. "Wow, the park and the city are gorgeous at night", Mariko noted. "You're right, it is very nice to look at during the night", Chiyoko agreed. "I've heard the park can be at its most beautiful at nighttime", Katsuhiko replied. "And apparently you would be right", Fumihiko concurred.

"You know, we both have jobs now", Mariko and Chiyoko chimed in together. "Oh really? Well, what job?", Katsuhiko and Fumihiko asked in unison. "Well, I'm working as a 1st grade student teacher at Higashi-Jujo Elementary", Mariko answered. "And I'm a 2nd grade student teacher at Toshima Wakaba Elementary", Chiyoko explained. "Well that sounds interesting for the both of you", Katsuhiko replied back. "I wish you two the best of luck at what you're doing", Fumihiko interjected.

So after a little while longer, and seeing a fireworks display someone had set off in their backyard, the four lovers each headed back to their respective homes. But not without some hugging and kissing each other first. You know, like most young couples do.

* * *

><p><strong>10:30 pm<strong>

After they reached the apartment, Mariko and Chiyoko made it their job to finally organize that damn closet. It took about a half hour total but eventually they got it cleaned up. The last item remaining on the floor was a book that read on the cover "2006-2007 Ryouou High School Yearbook (2006-2007 リュ·高等学校の 年鑑)". "Hey look, Chiyoko", Mariko called out, "It's our first yearbook from Ryouou High". "You're right Mariko", Chiyoko concurred, "I haven't seen this in ages".

"You know during our junior high years, we weren't able to see each other much", Mariko remembered. "That's right, since we were at different schools during that period", Chiyoko added. "But at least we were able to e-mail each other every other day, and call each other each weekend", Mariko stated. "That way we were able to keep our friendship alive despite being pretty far away from each other", Chiyoko explained.

"I still remember the day that we met each other again", Mariko chimed in. "That was back on our first day at Ryouou High", Chiyoko interjected. "Man that was a great day", Mariko sighed. "Yes it certainly was a wonderful day", Chiyoko agreed.

* * *

><p><em>Start of Last Flashback<em>

**Monday April 10, 2006, 8:30 am**

A few years after the previous flashback, the first day of school had arrived for the students of Ryouou High School. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant of days, in terms of weather. It was mostly cloudy, with a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), and it was supposed to rain later that day. Anyway, enough about that though. Let's get back to the story at hand.

As the many first years (10th graders in Japan) walked into the building, they checked the class lists to see what teacher they'd end up with. Among those students was Chiyoko, who looked at the bulletin board for the several class lists. Like everyone else, she was wearing the winter school uniform though she combined it black thigh high stockings and braided pigtails. She also no longer wore braces and the glasses would come off with her laser eye surgery a few months later. Anyway, she eventually found her name in Ms. Takahashi's homeroom, along with 19 other students.

Now, at the exact same time, Mariko walked up to the same bulletin board. She also wore the winter school uniform, combining it with white over knee socks as well as a simple ponytail. She looked at the many class lists, and she saw her name in Ms. Takahashi's homeroom as well. It was just then that the two girls noticed that much to their surprise they were standing right near each other this whole time. "Mariko?", Chiyoko sputtered. "Chiyoko?", Mariko wondered. "Is that you?", they asked in unison.

Once they realized who the other person was, they immediately ran through the crowd and hugged each other. Both were jumping around, holding each other and crying tears of joy. "I can't believe it! We're back together once again!", Mariko squealed. "I know! It's been so long since we've seen each other!", Chiyoko squeaked. It took a few minutes, but they finally regained their composure.

"I thought you were still living in Tokyo", Mariko replied, "When did you move to Saitama?" "Just this past weekend in fact", Chiyoko explained, "My father got a new job right near the school". "That's awesome!", Mariko cheered, "Now we can see each other more often now!". "Yes, that's exactly right!", Chiyoko realized, "And do you realize something else, Mariko?".

"What is that, Chiyoko?", Mariko asked. "Well, we both have the same homeroom teacher", Chiyoko told her. With that, they both took another look at the class list, just to be sure. "Oh my god! You're right!", Mariko gasped. "This is just incredible!", Chiyoko beamed. And a few seconds after that, the two girls once again hugged each other, then they went to join their fellow first years at the assembly that was being held.

_End of Last Flashback_

* * *

><p><strong>Flashforward back to May 25, 2012<strong>

"Yeah, that day was one of the best of my life", Mariko sighed. "It was one of the best days of mine as well", Chiyoko agreed. "To think, more than 16 years has gone by since we first met", Mariko added. "And we've had a great deal of memories over that amount of time", Chiyoko concurred.

At the same time, the two girls got out a bottle of sake and poured some into 2 small glasses. Don't worry, they were both legal age to drink. "A toast to many more years of friendship", Mariko called out. "And a big amen to that", Chiyoko replied. With that, they clinked their glasses together and gulped down the liquid.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **June 30****, 2012**

**Higashi-Jujo Elementary School** - a real life elementary school located in Kita-ku, Tokyo.

**Toshima Wakaba Elementary School** - a real life elementary school located in Kita-ku, Tokyo. It opened on Friday November 22, 2002.

Now that this arc has been completed, it's now time to move on to what a lot of you have been anticipating for a long time now. Chapter 26 will mark the start of a Yutaka and Minami arc.

Once again, I thank you all for your continued support during this arc.


	26. Illness and a Surprise Birthday Proposal

Note: Now that I've finally completed the Mariko and Chiyoko flashback arc (which took WAY too long for me to finish), it's time to move on to what a lot of you have been waiting for. This chapter will start up the Yutaka and Minami arc which will run until Chapter 30.

Another note: I think by this point you all know what's going on with the length of the chapters, so I don't think I need to say anymore about it.

One more note: This chapter could get a bit intense during the first part, however if you're a true fan of this couple, then I suggest you read to the end for a surprise.

A final note: At least one new character makes her debut in this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday October 11, 2012, 9:15 am<strong>

Inside their apartment right near the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yutaka and Minami were getting ready for another day of school. But this morning, Minami noticed that something wasn't quite right with Yutaka. For one thing, she seemed tired and lethargic, and another thing, she barely ate any of her breakfast.

"Yutaka, is something wrong?", Minami wondered, geniunely concerned. "My stomach hurts and I feel like I'm going to throw up", Yutaka admitted, "I already did earlier this morning". Minami then put her hand on Yutaka's forehead. "Oh you feel a little warm", Minami explained, "I think you should stay here today". "Well, I don't have any classes anyway today", Yutaka answered, "When will you be home?".

"I should be home between 12:30 and 1 o'clock", Minami replied to her. "Okay I'll see you when you get back then", Yutaka concluded. With that, they blew kisses to each other as Minami walked out the front door and Yutaka walked back to her room. "Gee, I hope she's going to be all right", she thought to herself, as she closed the front door and walked the 250 meters (820.21 feet) to the TIOT campus.

* * *

><p><strong>12:45 pm<strong>

Throughout her three classes for that day, Minami was unable to focus, since she was so worried about Yutaka. So after her classes had finished up for the day, she hurried out of the building. As she did so, she ran into one of her classmates, Mikoto Furukawa (古川 美琴), a second year student, whom she and Yutaka had known for about the last year and a half. "Whoa, easy there tiger! What's the big rush?", Mikoto exclaimed. "Oh I apologize, Mikoto-san. It's just I really wanted to get home to see how Yutaka's doing", Minami answered.

"Is she all right?", Mikoto wondered. "Well, she barely ate anything this morning", Minami explained, "She said her stomach was hurting and she felt nauseous". "Well, it's probably that bug that's going on around campus", Mikoto suggested. "Probably, but then again she called me earlier and she said that she threw up three times and her stomach pains were getting worse", Minami answered back. "She threw up 3 times and her stomach is still hurting?", Mikoto questioned, "You're definitely going to want to keep an eye on that".

"Oh don't worry, I'm going to keep my eye on her", Minami assured her friend, "If she doesn't get better by tomorrow, I'm going to take her to the hospital". "That's a really good idea", Mikoto agreed, "By the way, do you mind if I walk back with you?". "I don't mind at all", Minami replied. "Okay, it's settled then", Mikoto concluded. So with that, the two of them started walking to the apartments.

* * *

><p><strong>12:50 pm<strong>

Well, it took less than five minutes to walk from the campus entrance to the apartment. "Yutaka, I'm home!", Minami called out, "Yutaka? Are you OK?". She then turned to Mikoto and demanded, "Why isn't she answering?". "Well, maybe she's asleep", Mikoto responded. "But Yutaka's not a very heavy sleeper", Minami insisted. "Okay, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing seriously wrong", Mikoto replied hopefully.

Suddenly, they heard a small voice calling out, "H-help me!". With that, the two girls rushed to Yutaka's room. When they got there, they were met with an alarming sight. Yutaka was sprawled out on the floor, crying and clutching the right side of her stomach. The pained and frightened look on her face said it all. She needed help.

"Oh no! Yutaka, what's wrong?", Minami sputtered, clearly very nervous. "M-m-my s-stomach really, really hurts now, Mi-Min-Minami-chan!", Yutaka sobbed with tears rolling down her cheeks and sweat accumulating on her forehead. Minami then placed her hand on Yutaka's forehead. "Whoa, you're burning up", she sputtered. "I-I think I'm g-going to t-throw up again", Yutaka gasped. Mikoto rushed to the corner and grabbed the trash can. And no sooner than she held it close to Yutaka's head, then she ejected whatever was left in her stomach into the can.

"What does this all mean?", Mikoto wondered. "I think I have a hunch", Minami answered as she pulled out her cellphone and dialed 119. "Hello 119, my girlfriend is having really bad stomach pains, she's vomiting and she's burning up", she explained, "I think it might be appendicitis. Could you please send someone down here?". A brief pause of a few seconds followed. "The address is 48 Gatoh Road, apartment number 2", she continued, "Okay, thank you".

"So what happened?", Mikoto asked. "They're sending an ambulance out right now", Minami announced. "What's appendicitis?", Yutaka wondered. "Well, it's basically when your appendix gets inflamed and swollen", Minami explained to her girlfriend, "If it gets like that, it needs to be removed immediately". "Or what happens?", Yutaka asked. "Well it could rupture, which would cause an infection that could kill you", Mikoto answered.

Upon hearing this, Yutaka gulped. "Y-You mean I c-could d-die", she sputtered. "Now don't forget that it may not even be appendicitis", Mikoto suggested. "There's a very small chance that it may be something else", Minami added, "But you don't need to worry Yutaka, you'll be just fine". "Do you really think so, Minami-chan?", Yutaka questioned. "I know so", Minami assured her. After that, the taller and older girl gently held her girlfriend in her arms until the ambulance showed up.

Well, it didn't take too long for the paramedics to learn everything about Yutaka's current condition. After a few minutes, they lifted her onto a stretcher and wheeled her into the ambulance with her girlfriend not too far behind. "Can you watch the house for us while we're gone?", Minami asked. "Can do!", Mikoto replied, as she saluted. "That's good, thank you", Yutaka managed to call out before the paramedics closed the back doors of the ambulance cab and speeded off.

* * *

><p><strong>1:20 pm<strong>

Anyway, it took less than 10 minutes to get to **Nagatsudakosei General Hospital **(長津田 厚生 総合病院) which was located only about 3.6 kilometers (or about 2.3 miles) away from the apartment. During the whole ride, Minami gently held Yutaka's little hand and tried to assure her everything would be all right. "But I've never had to have surgery before!", Yutaka whined. "But you want the pain to go away don't you?", Minami questioned. "Yes, I want this pain out of me right away!", Yutaka sputtered. "Then you should just do what the doctors say to do and you'll be just fine", Minami answered back.

When they got to the hospital, the ambulance pulled up to the emergency entrance, making the back doors of the cab were facing the entrance doors. Once that was taken care of, Yutaka was wheeled out of the ambulance, with Minami following right behind her. Two doctors were already waiting to take their patient in. She was moved to Room 12 in the emergency department, and was told that a doctor would be in to check on her momentarily.

About five minutes later, a doctor came in with an ultrasound machine. "Good afternoon, Miss Kobayakawa", she greeted, "I'm Dr. Kaida, and I'm here to help you get better". "Well, I hope you guys figure it out soon", Yutaka whimpered, "Because it hurts really, really bad!". "Well, I'm going to do some tests to see if you do have appendicitis", Dr. Kaida replied. If you've read my Nichijou fanfic "Not a Normal Day", you'll know exactly what the tests involve. After the tenderness of the abdomen test and the ultrasound image test, all that was left was to wait for the results.

While they were waiting, Yutaka turned her head to look at her girlfriend and asked, "Minami-chan, can I tell you something?". To that, Minami replied, "Well certainly, Yutaka. You can tell me anything". "I just want you to know that I love you very, very much", Yutaka answered. "And I love you very very much as well", Minami confirmed. She then pulled out a tissue and wiped Yutaka's eyes with it.

About 10 minutes later, Dr. Kaida came back into the room holding a manila folder. "Well, what's the prognosis, doctor?", Minami asked. "Well, it seems that Yutaka does have appendicitis", Dr. Kaida answered, "So she's going to have to get her appendix taken out". "Is it going to be a long surgery?", Yutaka wondered. "Oh, it shouldn't take very long at all", Dr. Kaida assured her, "Most of the time, the operation is over within an hour or two. Have you ever had surgery before, Yutaka?".

"No, I've never had surgery in my life", Yutaka answered, "Will it hurt?". "Not at all. I'm going to give you some medicine to calm you down and once you're in the operating room we're going to put you to sleep with anesthetic, so you won't feel a thing", Dr. Kaida replied back. "You see, Yutaka. Everything's going to be just fine", Minami insisted. "Okay, Minami-chan, I'm going to be brave for you and for me", Yutaka confirmed. With that, the two girls gently hugged each other.

* * *

><p><strong>2:00 pm<strong>

At around 1:50 pm, Dr. Kaida began preparing Yutaka for surgery, which would take place in 10 minutes. Right before she was wheeled to the operating room, Yutaka turned to Minami and said, "So I guess I'll see you when I get out". "I'll be waiting for you", Minami concurred as she grabbed Yutaka's little hand and gently kissed it. "I love you, Minami-chan", Yutaka called out with a yawn. "And I love you too, Yutaka", Minami concluded. And with that, Yutaka was wheeled to the operating room while Minami walked out to the waiting room.

While Yutaka was in surgery, Minami decided to walk down to the little gift shop about 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) down the street. She soon found what she was looking for: a get well card, a bouquet of flowers and a stuffed teddy bear. She paid the cashier the money for the "package" and before she left the store she wrote a message on the card.

_To Yutaka, the love of my life. _(ゆたか、私の人生の愛へ.)

_You have no idea how much I love you__. You bring so much joy into everyday. _(私はあなたを愛してどのくらいか分からない. あなたは日常にとても喜びをもたらす.)

_Just take your time getting better, and I am very proud of you. _(ちょうどあなたの時間が良くなって取る、と私はあなたの非常に誇りに思っています.)

Anyway, Minami had written so much that she was barely able to fit it all onto the small card. As soon as she finished writing, she walked the 2 kilometers back to the hospital. And she didn't get back a second too soon, for just a few seconds after she came back, Dr. Kaida came out from the emergency room doors.

"Dr. Kaida, how's Yutaka doing?", Minami asked. "Well Ms. Iwasaki, you'll be very glad to know that the appendectomy was a complete success and Yutaka's going to be just fine", Dr. Kaida explained. "You mean she's out of surgery?", Minami wondered. "Yes, she's in Room 316 on the third floor", Dr. Kaida answered. "Thank you very much", Minami replied back, bowing her head slightly. "My pleasure, just try not to surprise her", Dr. Kaida called out as Minami walked to the elevator.

* * *

><p><strong>3:20 pm<strong>

When Minami got to Room 316, she gently and slowly opened the door and went inside the room. She noticed that Yutaka was still knocked out from the anesthetic, so she placed the card, the flowers and the teddy bear on the table next to the bed. While she waited for her girlfriend to wake up, she pulled out a book and read it for a little while. She was just about to fall asleep when at around 4 o'clock, she heard a small voice calling out, "Minami-chan?".

"Oh Yutaka, you're awake!", Minami realized, "How are you feeling now?". "Well, I still have a little bit of pain there", Yutaka explained, "But I feel a lot better than I did a few hours ago". "I'm really glad to hear that", Minami told her, "By the way did you look at the table?". Yutaka looked at the little side table and saw everything. "Is all that for me?", she asked. "Yes, it is", her girlfriend replied, "Take a look at the card".

So Yutaka opened the get well card, and as she read the message, tears filled her huge green eyes. "I meant every word I put on there", Minami explained. "Oh thank you so much, Minami-chan", Yutaka whispered, hugging her girlfriend, "Thank you, thank you". "Oh you're welcome, Yutaka", Minami answered back, holding her girlfriend in her arms.

Just then, Dr. Kaida walked into the room. "Oh, I see you've woken up, Miss Kobayakawa. I was just coming in to check on you", she noted. "Yes, I have", Yutaka responded, "By the way, when can we go home?". "Well, depending on your condition over the next day or two, you could be able to go home by Saturday afternoon", Dr. Kaida explained to her. "Okay, thank you doctor", Yutaka answered back. "My pleasure", Dr. Kaida concluded as she left the room to see another patient. As soon as she left, the two young lovers hugged each other and kissed each other on the lips.

BTW, just as Dr. Kaida had predicted, Yutaka was able to leave the hospital on Saturday morning. Her condition had improved very quickly. I'm sure you all know that in the show, Yutaka was very sickly, succumbing to common illnesses a lot. However over the next few weeks, her overall health actually improved greatly.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday December 20, 2012, 12:00 pm<strong>

Well, it wasn't long at all before December rolled around once again. And soon after that, the day of Yutaka's 21st birthday came. That afternoon, as soon as Minami got home from her classes for the day (as I've said, Yutaka does not have classes on Thursdays), she and her girlfriend got ready to go out for a day on the town. And Minami was determined to ensure that this would be the best birthday that Yutaka ever had.

After they got cleaned and freshened up, they got dressed making sure to look their best. Yutaka had on a pink dress, white thigh high stockings and red high heeled pumps, and she had a pink ribbon in her red hair. Minami had on a blue dress, black nylon tights, and white Mary Janes and she had a white ribbon in her green hair. "Well, Minami-chan are you ready to go and have some fun?", Yutaka asked. "Yes, definitely", Minami answered, "I just need to check something here real quick". "Well, okay then", Yutaka replied back, "I'll wait for you in the car". "Okay then I'll be right there", Minami responded.

As soon as Yutaka was outside the door, Minami went back into her bedroom and opened her drawer. Under a pile of carefully placed clothes, lay a small box not much longer than an average wallet (when folded that is). She placed the box inside of her purse, making sure it was in a place where she'd remember it. "I hope that she'll like it", she thought to herself. With that, she went to join her girlfriend.

* * *

><p><strong>1:00 pm<strong>

After about a half hour's drive, Yutaka and Minami reached the **Landmark Plaza** (ランドマークプラザ) mall in Yokohama City. "Well, here we are, Yutaka. Landmark Tower Plaza", Minami announced. "Wow, that building sure is tall, isn't it?", Yutaka sputtered, mystified by the sheer height of the building. "It's actually the tallest building in Japan", Minami answered, "296.3 meters or 972 feet tall". "Well I can definitely imagine that", Yutaka replied back, "I mean just look at it". Not long after that they went inside the building.

The mall itself took up seven floors of the building, 2 of them were below ground. The first place they went to was a little karaoke box on the first lower level, called Karaoke Play Shopan. They spent about an hour and a half there, and sang quite a few songs like "Lost Destination" (Vocaloid song), "Fireflies", and "Gravity" . At around 2:45, they headed back up to the first level of the mall to do some shopping. Just as they were walking, they bumped into two very familiar faces in Konata and Kagami, who had come to do some shopping of their own.

"Hi there guys!", Konata called out. "How's it going?", Kagami asked. "Things are going very well", Yutaka explained. "We came here to celebrate Yutaka's birthday today", Minami added. "Oh well, happy birthday, Yu-chan!", Konata cheered. "That's right, today's your 21st birthday right?", Kagami wondered. "Yes, that's right", Yutaka answered. "Hey Yutaka, why don't you go wait at the flower shop for me", Minami suggested, "I need to talk to Konata and Kagami privately". "Well, okay Minami-chan", Yutaka concurred, "I'll wait for you there". And with that, she left the scene.

As soon as Yutaka was out of sight, Minami explained to the two other girls her plan. She took out the box and opened it to reveal a two tone gold ring with little 3 karat **turqoise** diamonds and topped with a 5 karat crystal diamond. "With this ring, I'm going to ask Yutaka if she'll marry me", Minami told them. "Wow! That's great!", Konata exclaimed, "Where are you going to do it at?". "When we go to have dinner at that buffet restaurant on the fifth floor", Minami answered. "That sounds wonderful. I'm sure Yutaka will be surprised", Kagami replied.

"I was wondering if you guys would like to come", Minami suggested. "Well sure, we'd be more than happy to come along", Konata answered. "Exactly, we wouldn't miss this for the world", Kagami agreed. "Great! Thank you so much!", Minami gushed. "What time should we be there?", Konata questioned. "I think around 6 o'clock tonight", Minami answered back. "Good, we'll be there!", Kagami replied. With that, the three girls separated.

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm<strong>

Just as they had promised, Konata and Kagami met Yutaka and Minami at the KEKE buffet restaurant on the fifth floor of the mall. After they had gotten in and paid their bill, the four of them sat down in a booth. By some coincidence, they saw Tomoyo and Hiroko in the booth across the aisle from them. "Hey there!", Konata greeted. "Oh hi there guys", Tomoyo replied back. "I never thought we'd see you two here", Kagami admitted. "But if you can believe it, we're here", Hiroko answered.

"By the way, where's your little daughter Kanata?", Tomoyo asked. "Oh, Kanata's at home today", Konata responded. "She didn't want to go, so Tsukasa and Miyuki are babysitting her while we're gone", Kagami added. "So that explains it", Hiroko realized. "By the way, how old is Kanata now?", Yutaka wondered. "She just turned one last month", Konata told her. "She's growing up so fast", Kagami sighed. "It definitely sounds like it", Minami concurred.

So anyway the six girls decided to combine their tables so that they could all sit together. For about the next two and a half hours or so, the six girls had a great time eating food and talking to each other about things. "By the way, are you all still coming to the Christmas party on Saturday?", Konata asked. "Of course, we're going to come", Tomoyo answered. "Why wouldn't we?", Hiroko blurted. "Sorry, but we had to ask", Kagami explained. "I'll be there", Yutaka chimed in. "So will I", Minami agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>8:30 pm<strong>

At around half past eight, one of the waitresses brought a rather big cake, with 21 lit candles on it, to the table where the six girls were sitting. She announced, "All right folks, we have a birthday girl among us tonight". Suddenly the lights went down to where it was almost dark. This gave Minami her cue to get ready. "Her name is Yutaka, and today is her 21st birthday", the waitress continued, "If you all would be so kind, let's all say Happy Birthday to her". The rest of the people in the restaurant complied as they along the waitress called out, "Happy Birthday, Yutaka".

After this was said, Yutaka replied, "Thank you everyone!". As soon as she blew out all 21 candles, the room applauded and the lights turned back on. When Yutaka looked to her left, she saw that Minami was on one knee, holding the box with the ring inside of it. As soon as she saw it, she gasped and put her hands to her mouth. Right after that, Minami took hold of her girlfriend's little hand and stuttered, "Y-Yutaka, w-will you m-m-marry me?". To that, Yutaka cheered, "Oh yes, Minami-chan! Of course I'll marry you!".

"Do you really mean it, Yutaka?", Minami wondered, blushing heavily. "Of course I do, Minami-chan", Yutaka assured her as she hugged her girlfriend. At this point, both girls had tears rolling down their faces. "I love you so much, Yutaka", Minami whispered. "And I love you so much too, Minami-chan", Yutaka replied back. With that, the two girls kissed each other on the lips

"Wow, now this is great", Konata noted. "It certainly is wonderful", Kagami agreed. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like this", Tomoyo admitted. "I've never seen this happen either", Hiroko concurred.

Well, I think I can safely say that this was the best birthday that Yutaka ever had hands down.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **July 6, 2012**

**Nagatsuta Kosei General Hospital **- a real life hospital located in Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa.

**Landmark Plaza **- a real life shopping mall located in the Yokohama Landmark Tower which stands as Japan's tallest building and third tallest structure. It is about 20.3 kilometers (12.6 miles) away from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

**Turquoise **- the birthstone for the month of December


	27. Christmas Party 2012

Note: In the last chapter, the Yutaka and Minami arc began on a rather intense note, when Yutaka had an appendicitis attack on October 11, 2012 which required immediate surgery. Luckily, she ended up making a full recovery, and her overall health improved as well. A little more than two months after that, on December 20, 2012, Minami proposed to Yutaka and she said yes. Even better, that day was Yutaka's 21st birthday. This chapter will continue on with their adventures. Also the arc has been extended. It will probably wrap up in Chapter 31 or Chapter 32.

Another note: This chapter will take it easy with the plot before we get into the _much_ bigger stuff next chapter.

One more note: A few more characters will join in this chapter, most if not all of which will be male. I don't think I will be adding many more original characters after this since I'm running out of room to put them in this story.

One last note: I apologize for the fact that this chapter took so **GOD DAMN LONG** to write and upload. You see I have a summer job going on from July 9th until August 17th, and after that I'm going to try to apply for college classes, and it's been really hard to keep up with the times. So if any of you are upset with me because of my slow progress, I apologize for any inconvience.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday December 22, 2012, 9:30 am<strong>

About 2 days later, Yutaka and Minami were in their apartment. The shorter and younger girl wore a pink sweater, purple skirt, black thigh high stockings and blue pumps, and her shoulder length red hair was done in pigtails with two white ribbons. The taller and older girl wore a blue sweater, green skirt, gray nylons, and black Mary Janes, and she had a blue ribbon in her shoulder length green hair. The two of them were sitting on the couch and holding hands, as they were watching a movie. The former girl was holding the box with the ring the latter had presented her with the other day.

"Wow, Minami-chan. This ring is absolutely beautiful", Yutaka noted, "Not quite as beautiful as you are though". "I agree with you. The ring is very nice", Minami concurred, "However, it's not as cute as you are, my little one". The two young women leaned towards each other and wrapped their arms around each other and kissed each other on the lips several times.

Not too long after, they heard a knock on their front door. "Anybody home?", a voice called out. "Who is it?", Yutaka responded back. "It's just me, Mikoto", the voice repeated. "Well, come in, Mikoto-san", Minami answered. With that, Mikoto opened the door and walked into the living room. One look and you could tell that she was definitely ready for Christmas. She had on a red sweater, a green skirt, white mid thigh stockings, and brown dress shoes and she had her waist length brown hair tied into a ponytail with a red and green striped ribbon.

"So what are you guys doing?", Mikoto asked. "Nothing really, we're just watching a movie", Minami replied. "Oh really? What movie are you guys watching?", Mikoto wondered. "We're watching **The Polar Express**, which is our favorite Christmas movie", Yutaka answered. "Really? I love that movie too", Mikoto concurred, "I saw it twice in the theaters when it came out and I have the 3-D edition on DVD".

"By the way, Mikoto-san", Minami cut in as she handed Mikoto an envelope, "We have something for you. Konata and Kagami asked us to give this to you". "Oh, well what is it?", Mikoto wondered. "It's an invitation for their annual Christmas party tonight", Minami answered. "They said that they wanted to meet you", Yutaka added in. "Really?", Mikoto asked. "Yes, we wouldn't lie to you", Yutaka affirmed to her.

"Well, I guess I can come tonight", Mikoto answered, blushing a little bit, "What time is the party?". "Well, it starts at 8 o'clock tonight, so we'll have to leave by no later than 1 o'clock this afternoon if we want to get there on time", Minami explained to her. "Why so long?", Mikoto demanded. "Well, Higashiyama is 432 kilometers or 269 miles away from here, so it takes about 5 and a half hours to get there", Yutaka answered. "Oh so that's why", Mikoto realized, "But wait a minute isn't the subway quicker?".

"Well, I guess it is", Yutaka admitted. "That's right, if we catch the 3:30 train from **Suzukakedai Station** to **Karasuma Oike Station**, we should get their early enough to help set things up", Minami added in. "The station's only about a 10 minute walk from here", Mikoto explained, "If we take the train there, that will give us time to get ready". "Well, all right then Mikoto, how about we meet at the station at around quarter after 3", Yutaka suggested. "That sounds like a plan", Mikoto agreed. "All right we'll see you there", Minami concluded. With that, the younger girl left, having said all that was needed to be said.

* * *

><p><strong>3:15 pm<strong>

Just as they had planned earlier that day, the three girls met at Suzukakedai Station (すずかけ台 駅). "Ah right on schedule", Mikoto noted. "What should we do while we're waiting for the train?", Yutaka wondered. "We still have about 15 minutes before it comes", Minami added. "How about 'I spy with my little eye'?", Mikoto suggested. "That sounds like fun", Yutaka agreed. "I'm up for it", Minami concurred.

So until the plane arrived, they played that game of "I Spy" until the train arrived. They had already bought their tickets so all they had to do was hop aboard, and take their seats. And at exactly 3:30 pm, the train sped off from the station and started on its way.

"Oh Yutaka, I meant to ask you", Mikoto realized, "What did you do for your birthday the other day?". "Well, Minami-chan brought me to that Landmark Plaza mall near the university", Yutaka answered. "And while we were at the buffet restaurant, I asked Yutaka if she would marry me", Minami chimed in. "You mean you popped the question?", Mikoto gasped. "That's exactly what happened", Minami replied. "And I said yes", Yutaka added.

"So that means you two are engaged now?", Mikoto wondered. To that, Yutaka and Minami shook their heads "yes" in reply. "Wow! That's great! I'm really happy for you two!", Mikoto exclaimed. "I have the ring right here in this box", Yutaka replied as she handed the box over to her friend. "Damn! That looks like one expensive stone!", Mikoto sputtered. "Nothing's too good for my little Yutaka", Minami answered back, holding Yutaka in her arms and kissing her on the forehead.

* * *

><p><strong>6:45 pm<strong>

At around 6:45, the train made its final stop at Karasumaoike Station (烏丸御池 駅). "Oh this is our stop", Yutaka announced. "Right you are", Minami concurred. "Last stop! Everyone off!", Mikoto called out jokingly as the three girls got off the train. By now, since the sun sets at around 4:30 this time of year, it was dark by the time they got to the station. Anyway, it only took about 15 minutes to walk to their destination. Once they got to Konata and Kagami's apartment, they knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Konata answered the door.

"Hey there, you two!", she greeted, "I'm glad you made it". "We wouldn't have missed this for the world!", Yutaka exclaimed. "May we come in?", Minami asked. "Sure, we're just starting to set things up now", Kagami answered from in the kitchen, "By the way, is your friend here?". "Yes, she's right next to us", Minami replied. "Do you want to come and meet her?", Yutaka wondered. "Sure, hang on a second", Kagami answered back.

"So you must be Mikoto", Konata guessed, "Yu-chan and Minami-chan have told me all about you". "You'd be right", Mikoto added, "And Yutaka and Minami have told me all about you as well. I'm guessing you're Konata". "That's right", Konata answered, "And this beautiful young woman behind me is my lovely wife Kagami". "Hello there, you're Mikoto is that right?", Kagami wondered. "Yes, that's exactly right", Mikoto confirmed, "Yutaka and Minami told me that you two were married and that you two have a little girl".

At the same time, little Kanata came out from behind the door. "Oh is that your daughter?", Mikoto asked. "Yes, she is", Konata confirmed, "Come here, Kanata". Kanata slowly walked over to her two mothers. Kagami picked Kanata up in her arms so that she was eye level with their guest. "She just turned one last month", Kagami explained, "She's growing up so fast". "Hello, I'm Kanata", Kanata greeted, "What's your name?". "Hello there, Kanata", Mikoto replied, "My name is Mikoto". "We've been teaching her how to talk", Konata added in.

Not too long after that, Tsukasa and Miyuki came into the apartment as well. We haven't heard from them for a while, at least not since Chapter 22. "Hi there guys!", Tsukasa called out. "Greetings, everyone", Miyuki concurred. "Hey you two!", Konata called out. "Nice to see you guys again", Kagami added. "Hi there!", Yutaka chimed in. "Greetings to you as well", Minami interjected. "Hello there, you two must be Tsukasa and Miyuki", Mikoto entered in, "My name is Mikoto. Yutaka and Minami told me all about you two".

"Nice to meet you, Mikoto", Tsukasa chimed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mikoto", Miyuki agreed. "You two have been married for the last 15 months is that right?", Mikoto wondered. To that, Tsukasa and Miyuki nodded yes in reply. "Well, I'm really glad to see that its working out for you two", Mikoto said to them.

* * *

><p><strong>7:30 pm<strong>

So anyway, after the introductions, the girls got right to work setting things up, and by 7:30, everything was all set up for the party. Now all that was left to do was to wait for the guests to show up. At around ten minutes before eight o'clock, the girls heard a knock on the door. Konata and Kagami walked up to the door. When they opened it, they saw Ayaka and Nanami standing there, with their guitars on their backs. Ayaka had a Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass V 5-String Electric Bass. Nanami had a Gibson Custom 1958 Les Paul Standard Plain Top VOS Electric Guitar.

"Hey there, you two", Konata greeted, "Glad you could make it". "Of course, we wouldn't miss this for anything!", Ayaka cheered. "Where should we put our instruments?", Nanami asked. "Right there where the amplifiers are", Kagami answered, "We've already set them up". "Oh, what luck!", Ayaka exclaimed. "Yes, very lucky indeed", Nanami concurred. So the two ran up to the amplifiers to hook up their guitars.

No sooner than the door closed, then another knock came. Tsukasa and Miyuki walked up to the door that time to answer it. When they opened it, they saw that Mariko and Chiyoko were standing there (You'll probably remember that they had an arc shortly before this one). Anyway, they had their instruments with them as well. Mariko had brought her trusty Pearl Rhythm Traveller 5-Piece Drum Set (though she had to put it on a loading recepticle and take the elevator). Chiyoko had brought her trusty Yamaha MOTIF XF8 88-Key Music Production Synthesizer (which she had to be very careful with since it was an expensive keyboard; 282,000 yen to be exact or about $3,600 USD. Good thing she grew up in a wealthy family).

"Hi there, you guys", Tsukasa announced. "Howdy there, guys! Great to see you!", Mariko shouted in her usual gleeful and energetic way. "It's a pleasure to see you two again", Miyuki added in. "Same to you two as well", Chiyoko replied, "We brought our instruments for later on". "Just put them over here", Ayaka called out. "We brought ours as well", Nanami interjected. "Oh by the way, we ended up inviting a few friends to come later", Ayaka interrupted. "We know we should have asked you first", Nanami added, "I hope you don't mind". "Oh don't worry about it", Konata assured them, "We don't mind at all". "You know what they always say", Kagami agreed, "The more the merrier".

Not too long after that, another knock came at the door. This time, Yutaka and Minami walked up to the door and answered it. When they opened it, they saw Tomoyo and Hiroko standing there. Tomoyo was holding a small box filled with percussion instruments. Hiroko was holding a case that looked like a saxophone was inside of it. "Hi there", Yutaka answered, "It's nice to see you two again". "Greetings to you, Yutaka, and to you as well, Minami", Tomoyo greeted. "Just come right in and make yourselves at home", Minami added. "Thank you very much for the offer. We'll...wait a minute", Hiroko replied, before she noticed something.

After seeing what she saw, Hiroko then walked up to Mikoto and tapped her on the shoulder. "Mikoto Furukawa, is that you?", she asked. To that, Mikoto turned to look at Hiroko and said, "Yes. I remember you too. You're Hiroko Yoshida right?". "Yes, one and the same", Hiroko answered back. "Do you two know each other?", Minami wondered. "We went to high school together at **Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School **(京都 外大 西 高等学校)", Mikoto answered. "That was back in April of 2008", Hiroko added, "This is the first time we've seen each other since we graduated last year".

* * *

><p><strong>8:30 pm<strong>

At around 8:30 pm, Yutaka and Minami got the whole crowd together to tell them what had happened 48 hours before. "And so the other night at KEKE Buffet, I asked Yutaka if she would marry me", Minami began. "And I said yes almost as soon as I heard those words", Yutaka added. "We have the ring with us right now", Minami interjected. "Go ahead and pass it around", Yutaka suggested. As the ring was being passed around, Yutaka and Minami explained it further.

"Since we just got engaged 2 days ago, we still have yet to figure out the date for our wedding", Yutaka continued. "However, we're pretty sure that it will be sometime this summer", Minami added. "Wow, that's great!", Ayaka cheered. "I'm really happy for you two", Nanami concurred. "Hopefully, everything goes smoothly", Mariko chimed in. "Yes, that's what I hope too", Chiyoko agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>9:00 pm<strong>

After a little while longer, the other girls began setting up their instruments to perform for the group. Just a few minutes before they were supposed to start, another knock came at the door. This time, Ayaka and Nanami answered the door. And standing there, were a small group of guys which were led by Katsuhiko and Fumihiko (I'm sure you remember them from the Mariko and Chiyoko flashback arc not too long ago). The other males in the group were named:

Tatsuya Nakagawa (中川 達也), Ayaka's boyfriend, also known as the loud and outgoing one

Noriyuki Fukushima (福島 典之), Nanami's boyfriend, also known as the quiet and sensitive one

Kazuya Yamada (山田 和也), Tomoyo's boyfriend, also known as the cool and hip one

Atsushi Ishidate (石立 篤志), Hiroko's boyfriend, also known as the goofy and easygoing one

Nobuaki Kawanami (川浪 信明), Mikoto's boyfriend, also known as the most level-headed one of the bunch

"Glad you guys could make it", Ayaka said to them. "I'm sure you fine young men will bring some spice to this party", Nanami chimed in. "When you said it had to do with Christmas, I said I'm there", Tatsuya called out. "Luckily I didn't have anything important to do this weekend", Noriyuki added. With that, the five men saluted and walked into the apartment. This sudden intrusion didn't go unnoticed by the other girls. But oh well, these good ol' boys don't mean no harm (as they say on **The Dukes of Hazzard**).

"Hey look Chiyoko, guess who's here", Mariko whispered to her friend nudging her on the shoulder. "You're right, Mariko", Chiyoko noticed, "I wonder what they're doing here?". "Ayaka and Nanami invited us here", Katsuhiko answered. "They said it would make this shindig more interesting", Fumihiko added. The two boys then gently kissed their girlfriends on the lips.

"Hello there ladies", Kazuya and Atsushi greeted, as they walked up to Tomoyo and Hiroko. "Why hello there, gentlemen", Tomoyo answered back, playing along. "Greetings to you two fine young men", Hiroko replied, all too eager to play along with the act. At the same time, Nobuaki walked up to Mikoto. "So, how are you doing?", he asked. "I couldn't be doing better right now", she answered. "Have you made any new friends yet?", Nobuaki questioned. "Oh yes, I've already made a few", Mikoto replied.

* * *

><p><strong>9:15 pm<strong>

So after that little interruption, the girls of the Red Roses and Blue Violets (see Chapter 19 for reference) managed to get everything ready to perform their usual Christmas songs. "Okay, we're about to start our performance for you guys", Ayaka announced. "We're going to start with our own version of 'Jingle Bell Rock'", Nanami added then turning to Chiyoko and Tomoyo (the lead vocalists) asked, "Are you two ready?". "I'm as ready as I'll ever be", Chiyoko answered as she turned on her keyboard. "I'm ready to go as well", Tomoyo replied as she got out a tambourine and a pair of maracas.

"All right, Nanami, can you lead us in?", Ayaka wondered. "Well Ayaka, I definitely can", Nanami answered back. She then started the song by playing a 15 second long guitar solo, before the other girls joined in. After about 20 more seconds, the lyrics started.

Tomoyo: Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock. Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring.

Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun. Now the jingle hop has begun.

Chiyoko: Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock. Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time.

Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square. In the frosty air.

Tomoyo: What a bright time, it's the right time. To rock the night away.

Chiyoko: Jingle bell time is a swell time. To go gliding in a one horse sleigh.

Both: Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet. Jingle around the clock.

Mix and mingle in the jingling feet. That's the Jingle Bell Rock.

Following this, another musical interlude of about 45 seconds took place. During that time, Nanami performed another awesome guitar solo, that left everyone cheering. After that solo finished, Hiroko stepped up with her saxophone and performed a simply epic solo of her own. After her solo was done, the lyrics started up one last time.

Tomoyo: What a bright time, it's the right time. To rock the night away.

Chiyoko: Jingle bell time is a swell time. To go gliding in a one horse sleigh.

Both: Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet. Jingle around the clock.

Mix and mingle in the jingling feet. That's the Jingle Bell, that's the Jingle Bell, that's the Jingle Bell Rock.

After a few more seconds and a final awesome drum solo from Mariko, the song ended to riotous applause from the small crowd. The six members of the band joined hands and bowed.

* * *

><p><strong>10:30 pm<strong>

Later on that night after a few more songs were performed, Yutaka managed to get the crowd gathered back together. "All right, everyone", she announced, "The reason I've gathered you all here in this group is because I have some unfinished business to take care of". "What is this business you're talking about, Yutaka?", Minami wondered. "Well, Minami-chan, I was going to wait until Tuesday to do this", Yutaka answered as she handed her fiancee a small box, "But I actually want you to open this now".

With that, Minami unwrapped the package and she was quite surprised to discover a silver ring studded with little 2 karat **sapphire **diamonds and topped with a 4 karat crystal diamond. "Y-Yutaka, i-it's beautiful", she sputtered, "B-But how did you..". "Well, I've been saving up money ever since we started dating", Yutaka interrupted, "And I was going to propose to you on Tuesday for Christmas, but you beat me to the punch". "Well, I guess I did", Minami sighed, giggling a little bit.

"So do you like it?", Yutaka wondered, "Because if you don't I could take it back and get you another ring". "That won't be necessary, Yutaka", Minami told her as she put her hand on her fiancee's shoulder, "I love it very much. But not nearly as much as I love you". After this was said, the two girls hugged each other and kissed each other gently on the lips. This action was not unnoticed by the others.

"Aw, now will you look at that. Isn't that nice", Konata answered. "It is a very romantic moment. Kind of like the ones you and me have", Kagami noticed. "I can tell that they really love each other", Tsukasa contemplated. "And I thoroughly agree with you on that sentiment", Miyuki agreed. The other girls agreed with the four main girls on that statement, and even the boys couldn't help but notice this moment.

"I love you, Minami-chan", Yutaka whispered. "And I love you too, Yutaka", Minami replied softly. After their embrace, the party continued as planned until the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **August 14****, 2012**

**The Polar Express **- a 2004 American computer animated feature film starring Tom Hanks (acting in_ five_ different roles) and directed by Robert Zemeckis. It was based on the 1985 children's book by Chris Van Allsburg (who also served as an executive producer for the film). The film was animated entirely with motion capture. It was released to theaters on Wednesday November 10, 2004 by Warner Bros. Pictures, and as of January 2012, the $165 million film has grossed $307 million worldwide (including at least $20 million from yearly IMAX 3-D re-releases) and the film was also nominated for three Academy Awards, despite mixed reviews from critics. Personally, it's one of my favorite Christmas movies so I had to pay my respects to it.

**Suzukakedai Station** - a real life train station located in Minamitsukushino, Machida City, Tokyo, which opened on Saturday April 1, 1972.

**Karasuma Oike Station** - a real life train station located in Torayacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto. It opened on Friday May 29, 1981 and was named simply Oike Station. It was renamed Karasuma Oike Station on Thursday May 22, 1997.

**Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School **- a real life private high school located in the Ukyo Ward of Kyoto City. It is a part of the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Group.

**The Dukes of Hazzard **- an American action-adventure/family/comedy-drama series. It originally aired on CBS from Friday January 26, 1979 to Friday February 8, 1985, and ran for a total of 7 seasons and 145 episodes. It ranked among the top 10 highest rated programs for its first 3 or 4 seasons. It recieved a movie adaptation which was released to theaters on Friday August 5, 2005 by Warner Bros. Pictures.

**Sapphire **- the birthstone for the month of September


	28. Christmas, Questions and a Third Wedding

Note: This chapter is going to be where we get into the really good stuff. I am of course talking about when Yutaka and Minami finally get married. The wedding will happen either in the middle or towards the end of this chapter, after which the honeymoon arc will follow, and I can promise you that it will be a big honeymoon too. Also look closely for a few other possible surprises along the way. The chapter will start out slow but gain speed as we go on.

Another note: This chapter **REALLY** got me stuck, especially the early parts.

Another note: This will be the longest chapter I've made of this fanfic to date.

One last note: Until further notice, chapters will probably only be posted every few weeks. Apparently I did so well with my summer job, the employer decided to let me stay on, so now I have a job a few days a week. I apologize for any inconvenience, but this is just neccessary for the time being. This means that I'm definitely not going to be able to finish the fanfic by the end of 2012, but I'm still trying my hardest. Again, I'm very sorry that it's taking so god damn long to write this thing, and I hope you all understand. Thanks again and please don't forget to leave a review.

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday December 25, 2012, 7:00 am<strong>

Before long, it was Christmas morning. It had snowed throughout late Christmas Eve and by sunrise the ground was covered with about 15 centimeters (or almost 6 inches) of snow. Believe it or not, snow is actually relatively rare in Japan. But I'm getting off track. Now to get back to the story.

Anyway that morning, Yutaka and Minami woke up to find the scene outside. "Wow, look, Minami-chan", Yutaka called out, "It must have snowed during the night". "It looks that way, Yutaka", Minami answered back, "It's been a long time since I've seen a snowy Christmas". "Maybe we could make a snowman later on", Yutaka suggested. "That sounds like a good idea", Minami agreed.

After a few minutes, the two young women walked into the kitchen to make a traditional Japanese breakfast. It took a while to prepare but by 8:15, they were at the table and the cooking was finished. Before they began to eat, the two young woman clasped their hands together and said, "Thank you for the food". It took them about 30 or 40 minutes before they finished. By the time they had cleaned up everything it was about 9:15.

At this time, Yutaka and Minami walked over to their brightly decorated Christmas tree to open the presents that they had bought each other over the weekend. As they had spent a considerable amount of money buying each other rings, there weren't too many parcels under the tree. The biggest one they got was the new **Wii U **video game system. The other gifts were mostly small things, likes books and a few games. Except for a few, one of which turned out to be a karaoke machine, which was a bit smaller than you'd find in your average Japanese karaoke box, and two others turned out to be matching gold necklaces.

By the time they had opened the last parcel, it was about 10:00. So Yutaka and Minami went back to their room and got dressed in warm clothing, which included hats, scarves, mittens, and galoshes. When Minami saw Yutaka all bundled up, she couldn't help but giggle at how cute she looked. "What's so funny, Minami-chan?", Yutaka wondered. "It's just that you look like a little eskimo. It's cute", Minami answered, giggling. To that, Yutaka looked in a mirror on the wall, and she giggled as well. "You're right, I do look like one, don't I, and so do you", Yutaka admitted. "You're right. I guess I do too", Minami realized, giggling at herself. With that, the two went outside.

* * *

><p><strong>11:30 am<strong>

A little while later, the two girls went back inside to warm up. They had managed to build a snowman that was almost as tall as Yutaka. I should mention that since high school, she had grown about 6 centimeters. She is now 144 centimeters (4 feet 8.7 inches) tall, but that's really another story. The temperature had actually dropped a bit from when they had first gone outside so after about an hour and a half they decided to go back in the house.

At about 12:00, Yutaka and Minami emerged from their bedroom in different clothing. The younger and shorter girl wore a red dress, white nylons, pink high-heeled pumps and her hair was tied in a simple ponytail with a green ribbon. The older and taller girl wore a green dress, black nylons, blue Mary Janes, and she had a red ribbon in her hair.

"You know Yutaka, you look so cute in that outfit", Minami answered. "Thank you, Minami-chan, and you look very pretty in your outfit as well", Yutaka replied, blushing a bit. "Oh well, thank you", Minami stuttered, blushing even more than her fiancee. "Not a problem. You always look pretty to me", Yutaka reiterated.

It was just then that they noticed something. "Hey Minami-chan, look at where we're standing", Yutaka suggested. "Oh, we're standing right under the mistletoe", Minami realized. "You know what that means don't you?", Yutaka asked. "Yes, we should probably kiss now", Minami answered. And with that, the two young girls wrapped their arms around each other and kissed each other on the lips.

A few moments later, they heard a knock on the door. "I wonder who that could be?", Minami wondered. "I'll get it", Yutaka responded. She opened the door, and she saw her parents as well as her girlfriend's parents standing there. "Mom! Dad!", Yutaka cheered as she hugged her parents, "What a surprise!". "Mother! Father!", Minami exclaimed as she threw her arms around her own parents, "What are you two doing here?".

"Well, we came to check in on you two", Atsuko (Yutaka's mother) replied. "Also, we heard from a little birdie that you two are planning on getting married soon", Akiyoshi (Yutaka's father) interjected. "Who told you that?", Yutaka wondered. "Well your friend Mikoto called us on Sunday to tell us", Honoka (Minami's mother) answered. "So we decided to come here to see if it was true", Hiroyuki (Minami's father) emphasized. "Oh so that explains it", Minami realized.

A few seconds later, they heard another familiar voice calling out, "Hey Yutaka! I came to see you, little sis!". Yutaka looked over her shoulder to see her older sister Yui (we haven't heard from her in a _LONG_ time since Chapter 4 of "Holiday Vacation") standing there as well. She ran up to her sister, jumped up and hugged her. "Onee-chan! You're here!", she exclaimed. "Of course", Yui answered, "They told me that you and Minami were planning on getting married".

"Oh I meant to show you all the rings we bought each other", Minami remembered, as she ran back to the bedroom. She came back about 15 seconds later with the boxes containing the rings in her hands. "Here, pass them around", she advised. With that, the adults did what was suggested to them and looked at the 2 rings, and passing them around to each other. A few minutes later, the group was sitting on the couches.

"So when do you two plan on getting married?", Atsuko wondered. "We don't know the exact date yet", Yutaka answered. "But we know it will probably be during the summer", Minami continued. "Are you two sure that you're ready?", Honoka asked them. To that, Yutaka and Minami nodded yes in reply. "Well, I don't know if I can say with certainty that I can get behind this thing", Akiyoshi admitted. "I'm not sure that I can accept it either", Hiroyuki agreed. "What in the world do you mean by that answer?", Yutaka sputtered, clearly stunned. "Is it because you don't think that it's acceptable for 2 women who love each other to get married?", Minami stuttered, equally shocked.

"No, no, it's nothing like that!", Akiyoshi explained to them. "It's the fact that you two haven't been dating for very long", Hiroyuki continued. "Haven't been dating very long?", Yui demanded, "They've been dating for like 5 years now!". "We're just afraid that they won't be able to afford it", Atsuko protested. "We don't want to see them not be able to support themselves", Honoka added. "How do you know they won't be able to support themselves?", Yui wondered.

"We've been saving up for this day ever since we started dating", Minami insisted. "It's true, so far we've secretly saved about 5 million yen (or about $63,646 USD) for our wedding", Yutaka continued. "Well, it seems to me that you two really _are _ready", Atsuko realized. "It's apparent to me as well", Honoka agreed. "See I told you, don't jump to conclusions", Yui explained to them, "I know how much that Yutaka and Minami love each other".

"You two are really serious about this, aren't you", Akiyoshi asked them. To that, Yutaka and Minami nodded yes in reply. "Well, if you two _really _love each other, then I guess we shouldn't really have reason to be against it", Hiroyuki concurred. "Do you have any idea where you want to have your wedding?", Yui asked them. "Well, since we can't really get married in Japan, we were to planning to go to America to get married", Yutaka answered. "There are a few states that permit same-sex couples to wed", Minami interjected.

"Well, we all wish you two the best of luck", Atsuko replied back. "And if you two need any help, just give us a call", Honoka agreed. "Thank you so much", Yutaka answered back. "Yes, thank you all", Minami concurred. With that, the 2 young girls hugged their relatives in a huge group hug.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday March 21, 2013, 3:30 pm<strong>

A few months later, Yutaka and Minami were walking out of the school building. They had just completed the last of their final exams. Their graduation ceremony would take place in 5 days on Tuesday the 26th. "Boy those exams were hard weren't they, Minami-chan?", Yutaka wondered. "Well Yutaka, they _were _quite hard", Minami agreed. "But just think, in 5 more days, we'll be graduating", Yutaka announced. "I know, and then we can focus more on planning our wedding", Minami replied. The two of them then stopped for a minute to think about that day.

Apparently, they were so deep in thought, that they didn't notice the crowd of about 500 students rushing towards them. By the time their attention was back, they were surrounded by over-eager group of people asking questions. Apparently, somebody had let it slip that Yutaka and Minami were engaged and would be getting married, despite the two of them wanting it to remain a secret. Now everyone in that crowd wanted to know all of the details.

Some of the questions that were being asked to them included, "Is it true that you're getting married?", "When is the wedding?", "Where's it going to be held?", "When did you two get engaged?", "Why haven't you told us this before?", "Why did you decide to get married?", "Do you two think you're ready?", and "How long do you think you'll be married for?". Obviously, neither Yutaka nor Minami knew exactly how to answer these questions. They were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of questions being asked.

Finally, after about 45 seconds, they got a break. "Hey! What's going on here? Move out of the way! What's the big fuss all about? Let me through!", a familiar voice yelled out. The two nervous girls turned around to see Mikoto pushing her way through the crowd. When she finally got to her friends, she barked to the crowd, "All right! Break it up, people! Nothing to see here! Move along!". Many in the crowd got the hint, however two students made it clear that they were not going to leave.

"Hey, where do you get off?", a male student shouted, "We wanna know about this marriage thing!". "Yeah, there's no law against us being here!", a female student yelled, "Don't ruin our fun, you fucking bitch!". "What did you just call me?", Mikoto demanded, gritting her teeth. "I called you a bitch, that's what I called you!", the female student taunted, "Fucking bitch! Bitch! Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!". "I'm warning you, girl. Don't push your luck or there will be paying to do", Mikoto warned her. "Hey, that's my girlfriend you're yelling at!", the male student growled at her, "We're not leaving until we get our facts, so why don't you go fuck yourself!".

This last remark pushed Mikoto over the edge. "THAT'S IT!", she screamed, "YOU ASKED FOR IT!". With that, she jumped on the two of them and tried to push them out of the way. But the male grabbed her by the arms, and the female started swinging punches at her. All the while, these two assholes were laughing at her as she tried to fight back. This attack didn't last very long. Within 30 seconds, the male and female were overpowered by the remaining part of the crowd, about 200 people. A few of them managed to pull Mikoto away from her assailants, and a few others physically dragged the troublemakers back inside the building to face their punishment. After this, the rest of the crowd scattered away.

Meanwhile, Yutaka and Minami, who had seen the whole encounter, were almost too stunned to move. "Mikoto-chan, are you all right?", Yutaka wondered. "Don't worry, I'll be fine after a few hours", Mikoto answered. "Are you sure you're all right, Mikoto-san?", Minami questioned. "Yes, I'm sure I'm fine", Mikoto reiterated.

"I've never seen you that angry before", Yutaka commented. "Neither have I", Minami concurred. "Well, those people were bugging you two, and then two of them called me names I can't say in polite company, and I guess I just lost my stuff", Mikoto admitted. "Well, I'm glad you're going to be all right", Minami answered. "I'm really glad too", Yutaka agreed.

"I guess this was sort of my fault that this happened", Mikoto confessed nervously, "I sort of told a few of my classmates that you two were getting married". "You told them the news already?", Yutaka groaned. "I thought we told you we wanted to keep it a secret for right now!", Minami sighed. "I swear to God, I only told three or four people and they told me that they wouldn't tell anyone else! I guess I couldn't resist", Mikoto answered defensively. However, both Yutaka and Minami were still rather upset that their friend had done that.

"I am so sorry!", Mikoto sputtered, "I know I shouldn't have betrayed your trust like that". "We really didn't want anyone to know just yet", Yutaka replied. "Now I'm worried they'll never leave us alone", Minami added. "Being surrounded by that many people was really scary", Yutaka interjected. "The only other time I've been that nervous was when I proposed", Minami empathized.

"I really didn't want to tell them! I just couldn't help myself.", Mikoto whimpered, with tears now filling her eyes, "You have no idea how sorry I am. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me". She felt the tears flowing down her face as she fell to her knees, covered her face with her hands, and began to sob. "Excuse me, Mikoto-san?", Minami asked after a few seconds. "I'll understand if you never want to be my friend again!", Mikoto sobbed, "I betrayed you and I should be punished for it!"

"It's all right, Mikoto-san. Don't cry. It'll be all right", Minami assured her, putting her arm around her friend, "I forgive you. And I'm sure Yutaka does too". She then looked at her girlfriend hopefully, however she had other ideas. "Well, I'm not sure I want to forgive Mikoto-chan for what she did", Yutaka huffed, clearly quite angry. "Yutaka! Have you lost your mind?", Minami gasped, astounded, "She said she was sorry! I mean look at her!". "But Minami-chan, what happened a few minutes ago scared me to death! And it was all because Mikoto-chan couldn't keep a secret!", Yutaka protested, still upset but debating in her mind on whether she _should_ forgive her friend.

"Just let it go, Minami", Mikoto whimpered hopelessly as she looked at her possibly soon-to-be-former friend, "Yutaka, if you don't want to be my friend anymore, I don't blame you. I don't deserve to have you as a friend". With that thought in her mind, she began to cry again. Finally, Yutaka thought to herself, "Oh dear, I can't be mad at her anymore after what she just said". She too kneeled down next to her friend and said to her, "Don't cry, Mikoto-chan. I forgive you too".

"You're probably just saying that", Mikoto sighed. "No, no, I really mean it", Yutaka insisted, "I absolutely positively forgive you, so please don't cry anymore". "Do you really mean it?", Mikoto sniffled. "Of course I do", Yutaka assured her, as she took out a tissue and wiped her friend's eyes with it, "Don't worry anymore, Mikoto-chan". With that she also put her arm around her friend and comforted her. "You see, Mikoto-san, we're still your friends", Minami added in. "Thank you two so very much!", Mikoto gushed, wiping away the rest of her tears and clearly very relieved. "You're welcome", Yutaka and Minami replied together. With that, the three began walking back to their apartments.

Sorry about my supporting character taking up a lot of this part of the chapter. I just wanted to create a bit of drama before Yutaka and Minami get married. It might not have been that good but hey what will you do, you know? Anyway, now to wrap this part of the chapter up. A few days later, at the commencement ceremony, Yutaka and Minami were allowed to make a brief speech, and in that speech confirmed that they had been engaged for about 3 months and that they would be getting married sometime in the summer. This announcement got a huge amount of cheers and applause from the audience.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday July 20, 2013, 12:00 pm<strong>

Well people, after about 7 months of planning, the day of Yutaka and Minami's wedding had at long last arrived. They had decided to get married in Mystic, Connecticut, since Connecticut is one of only six U.S. states that perform same-sex marriages. A few months before the wedding, their parents had approached them and told them that they would pay for the wedding. The money that the girls had saved they said could be used for the honeymoon.

Anyway, getting back to the wedding. It was a beautiful day in Mystic, with mostly sunny skies and a temperature of a pleasant 84 degrees. The guests waited inside the **Mystic Congregational Church **for the soon-to-be newlyweds to arrive. Some of the guests had arrived as early as 10:00 am, while most had arrived between 11:00 am and 11:30 am. While they were waiting the room was abuzz with excitement. For four women, the excitement was even greater than everyone else's.

"Well, this is it!", Konata declared, "Today is the day that Yu-chan and Minami-chan tie the knot". "This is so exciting", Kagami cheered, "This reminds me of when we got married". At this point in time, Konata and Kagami have been married for just over three years. Their daughter Kanata was almost 2 years old, and they had another daughter on the way. I will go into this further when this arc finally wraps up.

"I can hardly contain myself", Tsukasa giggled, "I'm so happy for the newlyweds and I hope they have a happy married life, like we do". "I'm having a hard time containing myself as well", Miyuki beamed, "Even though this is the third time this has happened in the last 3 years, it's still very exciting" At this point in time, Tsukasa and Miyuki have been married for almost two years.

Finally, at around noon, the big moment arrived. The crowd turned around and saw Yutaka and Minami standing at the entryway. They were both wearing cream yellow dresses with a knee length hemline, matching closed-toed pumps (the former's being high heels), and they each had a wreath of flowers in their hair. As the two were being led down the aisle by their respective fathers, the crowd stood up and the de rigeur "Here Comes the Bride" was played on the organ.

As soon as the two girls were at the front and the audience sat down, the justice of the peace began to speak. "Dearly beloved family and friends, we are gathered here on this beautiful day to join these two women in holy matrimony", she explained. Since going through the whole wedding would take too long, I'm just going to skip to the "I Do's".

"Do you, Yutaka, take Minami to be your lawful wedded wife", the justice asked, "Will you love, comfort, honor and protect her; forsaking all others to be faithful to her until death do you apart?". "Yes, I do", Yutaka answered. "And do you, Minami, take Yutaka to be your lawful wedded wife", the justice once again asked, "Will you love, comfort, honor and protect her; forsaking all others to be faithful to her until death do you apart?". "Yes, I do", Minami answered. Soon after the two placed the rings they had bought each other on the other's ring finger.

"Now if anyone has any reason as to why these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace", the justice explained. After waiting about 60 seconds, she turned to Yutaka and Minami, "Then by the power enthroned in me, by the state of Connecticut on behalf of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, I now pronounce you two wife and wife. You two may kiss now". After hearing this, and backed by the standing ovation from the crowd, Yutaka and Minami put their arms around each other and kissed each other passionately on the lips.

* * *

><p><strong>3:00 pm<strong>

After the ceremony, the nearly 200 patrons traveled the 5.2 miles from the church to the **House of 1833 Bed and Breakfast** for the reception, which coincidentally was owned by two male partners. It was a vibrant and exciting affair. The reception was held outside in the lush perennial gardens that the inn is famous for. Some guests took advantage of the full size swimming pool by diving in. And then there was the dancing. It was mostly American pop hits from the 80's and 90's that were being played, but the guests loved every minute of it.

The ceremony continued well into the evening. Until finally at around 9:00 that evening, Yutaka and Minami were just about ready to leave on their honeymoon. "Okay, everyone now before we leave there's one more thing that we need to take care of", Minami announced "And that business is the throwing of the garter and the bouquet", Yutaka added in.

With that, Yutaka sat down and lifted up her right leg, then Minami gently slid the garter of her wife's leg and threw it into the crowd. It was caught by both Tomoyo and Hiroko. "Well this is a little awkward, isn't it?", Tomoyo wondered, "I mean we both caught the garter at once". "I agree with you on that, Sis.", Hiroko concurred, "But maybe the luck will spread to the both of us".

A few seconds later, Yutaka stood back up with the bouquet in her hands. She then threw it backwards into the crowd. It ended up being caught by Mikoto of all people. "Wow, I actually caught the bouquet!", she said to herself, "Maybe it'll be good luck".

And with that out of the way, Yutaka and Minami bid the crowd goodbye and headed into the limosuine parked in front of the inn to start their honeymoon. This would not be a regular old honeymoon. No sir, this would be like a tour of the entire United States which would last about 2 weeks. And then they would be touring much of Europe which would take another 3 weeks. Don't worry, they had saved more than enough money for this. We'll start with it in the next chapter.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **October 17****, 2012**

Again, I'm sorry that it's been taking me SO FUCKING LONG to write these chapters now. I worry that I might be losing interest in writing this fanfic. It took way too long to get this chapter uploaded.

**Wii U **- a brand new video game console from Nintendo which will be the successor to the Wii. It will be released in North America on November 18, 2012, in Europe on November 30, 2012 and in Japan on December 8, 2012. Look around on the Internet for more information on it.

According to the Tokyo Institute of Technology's website, the commencement ceremonies have been held on March 26th for at least the last few years. And this year's ceremony is no different, as it is currently scheduled for Tuesday March 26, 2013.

**Mystic Congregational Church **- this gay-friendly church allows same sex marriages and is a good idea for couples wanting a little bit more of a traditional ceremony.

**House of 1833 **- a currently gay-owned historic five room bed and breakfast in a converted Greek Revival home. This romantic luxury resort draws in couples (whether same-sex or straight) from all over the country.

As of publication of this chapter, there are still only six states in America that perform same-sex marriages. They are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. It is also performed in the District of Columbia, as well as the Native American tribal jurisdictions of the Coquille Tribe and the Suquamish Tribe.


	29. The Start of the Honeymoon

Note: In the last chapter, Yutaka and Minami _finally_ tied the knot after a 7 month long engagement, which of course followed 5 years of dating. The next 3 or 4 chapters will focus on their honeymoon arc. I promise it will be big and it will not be as heavy on unnecessary facts like the last wedding/honeymoon arc. And these will be _long_ chapters as well, between 4,000 words to maybe as much as 6,500 or 7,000 words each. I apologize for the fact that I've been making you all wait so long to see the new chapters, and I _really _appreciate your patience for putting up with my frequent schedule slips. A lot of stuff has been going on at my house recently, such as my father being forced to retire from his job due to health reasons, and my sister, my brother-in-law (who works in the Navy Reserve), and my two nieces (ages 10 and 12) having to move to Maryland.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday July 20, 2013, 9:00 pm<strong>

Following the wedding ceremony and the reception, Yutaka and Minami were about to head into the limousine to another hotel to spend the rest of the weekend. Just as they got in, they heard a knock on the car door. They rolled down the window and they saw Mikoto standing next to the door.

"Before you two leave on your honeymoon, I wanted to give you this", she explained as she handed the two girls a CD. "What's this, Mikoto-chan?", Yutaka asked. "It's the demo CD that me and the girls of Red Roses and Blue Violets made", Mikoto answered. "Oh, when did you join the band?", Minami wondered. "They just drafted me as a percussionist and a vocalist just about three months ago", Mikoto told her, "I hope you two like it".

"I'm sure we'll enjoy it", Yutaka answered. "Thank you very much", Minami added. "You're welcome. Have fun on your honeymoon", Mikoto concluded. "We will have fun. See you again in a few weeks", Yutaka and Minami replied together. With that, they rolled the window back up and the limousine pulled out onto the road and drove off. It took them about 4 minutes to drive the 1.9 miles to the hotel they would be staying at overnight, Hyatt Place Mystic.

After they got out and unloaded their wedding gifts onto a loading receptacle, the two girls tipped the limo driver and the 2 loaders working the receptacle and went to check into a room. As soon as they got to their second floor room, they used the card key to open the door and went inside. Within a few minutes, the 2 people with the loading receptacle got to the room and placed the wedding gifts in the corner of the room in a neat pile.

Once they were alone, Yutaka and Minami looked at each other. You could see the love they had for each other in their eyes. "You know, Minami-chan", Yutaka remembered, "Technically we didn't have a last dance of the night". "You would be right about that, Yutaka", Minami concurred, "Luckily I have a solution". With that, she took another CD out of one of her bags. "What's that?", Yutaka asked. "I made a CD of our favorite song, **Can't Fight This Feeling**", Minami answered. "Great! And since there's a CD player in this room, we can have that last dance!", Yutaka cheered. "That we can", Minami agreed as she put the CD in the player and turned on the power.

As the music started, Yutaka and Minami embraced each other and began to waltz around the room. The huge amount of love they had for each other showed in each other's eyes. "I love you so much Minami-chan", Yutaka whispered. "And I love you too Yutaka", Minami said softly. If you could see them dancing, you would have gone "awww" at the cuteness of it. "You know, Yutaka, you don't _have_ to call me Minami-chan anymore", Minami told her wife, "Now that we're married you can just call me Minami". "Well okay, if you insist", Yutaka answered. "Is that all right with you?", Minami asked. "Anything for the love of my life", Yutaka responded, "From now on I'll just call you Minami".

After the song was finished, they kissed each other. However, their kiss was interrupted when Yutaka accidentally took a wrong step (she was still in her high heels) and landed on her left ankle. "Yutaka, are you all right?", Minami wondered. "I think so Minami, but my ankle hurts a little bit", Yutaka answered. "Oh dear, here, let me help you up onto the bed here", Minami replied, picking up Yutaka in her arms and setting her down gently on the bed. She then took off her wife's high heeled shoes. "Oh thank you, those shoes have been killing me all day long", Yutaka mumbled.

Not long after that she felt gentle pressure being applied to her ankle. Yutaka looked up and saw that Minami was trying to get rid of the pain in her ankle by massaging it. "Does this feel better, Yutaka?", Minami asked. "Yes, it does", Yutaka answered, "It feels really good actually". At the same time, she felt her eyelids growing heavy and a drowsy feeling coming over her. "Well, I'm glad to hear that", Minami replied back, "You can just lay back and relax, okay?". "Okay Minami", Yutaka whispered as she closed her eyes. "I'll just...lay down here...for now", she continued, yawning a bit as she leaned back and put her hands behind her head. Minami couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Would you mind doing my other foot?", Yutaka asked. "Oh sure, I don't mind at all", Minami told her as she took hold of Yutaka's right foot and started massaging it as well. "Ooooh...yes. This feels...so...relaxing", Yutaka sighed, moaning with pleasure. "Anything for you, my dear", Minami assured her. Sometime later, Minami removed Yutaka's nylon stockings, not quite an easy task. Since her soles were still glistening with sweat, they were making the nylons stick on and slip around, but eventually she got them off. For the next 30 minutes or so, she worked on the heels, soles, toes and ankles, putting her wife into an ever deeper state of relaxation.

Once she was finished, Minami noticed that Yutaka had fallen asleep. It had been a very long day for her, as she had not gotten any sleep the night before due to excitement. So she decided to turn off the light and lay down as well. It wasn't too hard for her to fall asleep either as she too had been up for most of the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Sunday July 21, 2013, 7:00 am<strong>

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, Yutaka and Minami awoke and were ready to start a day of exploring. After having a quick complimentary breakfast in their room, they got cleaned up, freshened up and dressed. Yutaka put on a red tanktop, green shorts, and white sneakers. Minami put on a pink tanktop, blue skirt, and grey sneakers.

"So what's the schedule for today, Minami", Yutaka asked. "Well Yutaka, this morning we visit the Olde Mystick Village and the Mystic Aquarium, and this afternoon the Mystic Seaport", Minami explained, "Later on tonight, we'll head to Ledyard to try our luck at the **Foxwoods Resort Casino**". "That sounds like a lot of fun", Yutaka noted. "It should be fun", Minami agreed. So with that, the two headed off on the short walk to the village.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00 am<strong>

Once they got to the village, they did a bit of browsing around. After they fed the ducks in the pond, the two girls did some shopping in the stores spread around the area, including 2400 Degrees F Murano Glass Jewelry, Franklin's General Store (where some of the best fudge you'll ever eat is sold), Imagine Fantasy Gifts, Mystic Silver & Company, Southern Exposure, and Toy Soldier (and those are the actual names of the shops). After spending about 2 hours there, they went to the Aquarium which was located just a few hundred feet away from the village.

Anyway, Yutaka and Minami spent another 3 hours inside the Aquarium, looking through the exhibits, which included a newly added one about the Titanic (installed the year before for the 100th anniversary of the ship's first and only voyage) and watching the animals.

"Aww, I love watching the sea animals", Yutaka commented, "They're so adorable". "I know what you mean", Minami concurred, "They _are _pretty cute, especially the penguins". "By the way Minami, what time is it now?", Yutaka asked, "Because it seems we've been here for a little while". "Well Yutaka, it's now about 12:45", Minami answered as she looked at her digital wristwatch, "In about 15 minutes, we should head down to the Seaport". "Okay that sounds like a plan to me", Yutaka remarked. "Yes, I want us to have as much fun as we can today", Minami replied.

* * *

><p><strong>1:10 pm<strong>

So anyway, at about 10 minutes after 1 o'clock, Yutaka and Minami arrived at the Mystic Seaport, which was located about 1.3 miles away, or a 4 minute drive, from the Aquarium. "Well, this is it", Minami announced as they walked in, "The Mystic Seaport". "This is much more elaborate than I expected", Yutaka admitted, "This seaport looks more like a small town". "This is apparently what an American seaport looks like", Minami informed. "Well, it's nothing what I expected", Yutaka reiterated.

After they paid the admission, the two first went on the SS Charles W. Morgan which is permanently tied up in dry dock in the Henry B. Dupont Preservation Shipyard. "I've read somewhere that this is the last surviving wooden whaling ship in the United States", Minami articulated. "It doesn't look like the oldest ship", Yutaka disclosed. "They restored it about 2 or 3 years ago I read", Minami replied. "Oh, so that explains it", Yutaka realized.

When they got off the ship about 15 minutes later, Yutaka and Minami went to the Seaport's Treworgy Planetarium to see a show. "They have a planetarium in a seaport?", Yutaka wondered as they went in. "Yes they do apparently", Minami answered back as they found a spot among the crowd. The showing lasted about 25 minutes. They then checked out a scale model of the Mystic River as well as an exhibit telling about America on the seas.

After having a bite to eat at The Galley restaurant, the girls tried to decide what to do next. "By the way Minami", Yutaka wondered, "What time is it?". "Well Yutaka, it's about a quarter after 3", Minami told her as she looked at her watch. "What should we do now?", Yutaka asked. "I have an idea", Minami interjected, "Why don't we go on the Sabino? They're loading up for the 3:30 afternoon cruise now". "That sounds like a wonderful idea", Yutaka agreed as she ran towards the boat, "Let's go then!". "Wait for me!", Minami called out as she ran after the love of her life.

* * *

><p><strong>3:30 pm<strong>

At exactly half past three, the Sabino took off for its ride through scenic Mystic River and back again. Throughout the half-hour ride, Yutaka and Minami were fully engrossed by the sights. "Wow, this is just amazing", Yutaka commented. "You're right, it is a magnificent sight", Minami agreed. At some point during the ride, their hands interlocked together and did not unlock until after they were off the boat. After another hour or so, they headed back into the car and began the short 25 minute ride (they had taken the scenic route along I-95) to Foxwoods Resort Casino, where they would spent the rest of the night and much of tomorrow as well, having booked a suite at the casino's MGM Grand hotel.

* * *

><p><strong>5:45 pm<strong>

At around quarter to six, Yutaka and Minami arrived at the MGM Grand to check into their suite. They had actually booked one of the so-called "Producer Suites". These suites have floor to ceiling windows which show off stunning panoramic views of the beautiful forest that surrounded the area below. Perhaps just as beautiful was what was _inside_ the suite. From a lavish king bed and natural rosewood furniture to a huge soaking tub and a hand made marble vanity, this suite was top notch.

"This suite seems to have everything already in it", Minami noted. "You can say that again", Yutaka concurred. "OK, this suite seems to have everything already in it", Minami repeated. "Oh Minami, I didn't mean it literally!", Yutaka giggled, "So what are we doing tonight". "Well Yutaka, tonight after we have supper, we're going to do a little more shopping and catch a show at the FOX Theatre", Minami explained. "That sounds like very entertaining stuff", Yutaka empathized. As soon as they finished unpacking, they went down to the actual casino building.

* * *

><p><strong>6:30 pm<strong>

After standing in line for about half an hour, the girls finally got into the Festival Buffet restaurant. It was during the time that the restaurant's "enhanced dinner menu" which included stuff like steak and snow crab clusters was out. I myself have actually been to the buffet a few times and it was fantastic. Anyway, it had everything from meat to fish to soup to pasta and even a dessert buffet. After filling up on food, Yutaka and Minami paid the bill and then went to the FOX Theater to catch a stand-up comedy show.

Later on after the show, the two girls decided to go to the casino's bowling alley called "High Rollers Luxury Lanes and Lounge", which was open until 1:00 am even though it was Sunday. They weren't very good at bowling, the most either of them scored was a 110, but they had a lot of fun anyway.

"I haven't had quite this much fun since my 21st birthday and that was also the day you proposed to me", Yutaka commented. "I've been having a lot of fun as well", Minami agreed, "But there have been a lot of other fun days since then". "I know that, but out of all those days so far today, yesterday, and that day have been the most fun", Yutaka explained. "I'll admit, it's hard not to agree with you there", Minami concurred.

Anyway after a long night, Yutaka and Minami returned to their suite very early Monday morning. They were so tired (and not to mention rather drunk, having had a few drinks at the alley) that they fell asleep right on the bed while they were still in their clothes. In just moments, they were out like a light.

* * *

><p><strong>Monday July 22, 2013, 9:30 am<strong>

The next morning, Yutaka and Minami woke up from their slumber. Both were groggy and a little hungover from the night before. "Why do I feel so terrible?", Yutaka wondered. "I think it was because of those drinks we had last night", Minami explained to her. "That might explain why my head is pounding and I feel so tired", Yutaka realized. "And why I feel so nauseous and why each sound seems 10 times as loud", Minami added. "Now I finally know what a hangover feels like", Yutaka admitted. "Maybe we'll feel better after we have some breakfast", Minami suggested.

After they had breakfast, which consisted of splitting an order of New York strip steak and eggs and corned beef hash and eggs (both came with hash browns and toast), the girls _did_ feel quite a bit better. "That hit the spot nicely", Yutaka sighed. "Yes it certainly did", Minami agreed. "We should probably watch our drinking from now on though", Yutaka suggested. "Good idea, that way we won't get another hangover", Minami concurred.

It was just then that they noticed that they were still in their clothes from yesterday. "We're probably going to need to get cleaned up and changed", Yutaka noted. "Yes, we should do that before we do anything", Minami agreed. So with that they went to get cleaned up, freshened up and dressed.

* * *

><p><strong>10:30 am<strong>

A little while later, Yutaka and Minami stepped out of their suite and into the hallway. The younger, shorter girl wore a blue T-shirt, brown shorts, and white strap on sandals. The older, taller girl wore a red tanktop, white shorts, and black pumps. "So what do we do first?", Yutaka asked. "Well, today we'll do a little more shopping", Minami told her, "And later on we'll check out that arcade".

"That sounds like a plan", Yutaka answered back. "Maybe later, we'll go down and try our luck at the slots", Minami suggested. "Good idea, after all, we _are _at a casino", Yutaka agreed. "All right then let's go", Minami reiterated as she grabbed her wife's hand. And with that they started walking down towards the casino area.

It wasn't very long before they reached the main area. For the next few hours, they looked around the area, mostly hitting the jewelry and accessories stores, though they also hit the Native American art and culture shop, called Indian Nations, as well the casino's 2 candy stores, Munson's and The Candy Shell.

After that, the two girls went to the casino's arcade, known as The Tree House (I've been there many times and it is loads of fun). It had all sorts of games, everything from Air Hockey to Dance Dance Revolution. They spent about 2 hours there. After that, they had a bite to eat at the Veranda Cafe. By the time they finished everything on their list, it was only about 7:30 pm

* * *

><p><strong>7:30 pm<strong>

So anyway, Yutaka and Minami wondered what to do now. They weren't due to leave for their next stop until tomorrow. "So Minami, what do you think we should do now?", Yutaka asked. "Well I don't know, Yutaka. What do you think?", Minami answered. After a minute of thinking they got an idea. "Why don't we try our luck at the slot machines?", Yutaka suggested. "I'm okay with doing whatever you want to do", Minami told her.

So with that, they took the escalator up to the Grand Pequot Casino. I should mention that Foxwoods has several casino sections, such as Grand Pequot, Great Cedar, Rainmaker and Festival Slots. However, I'm getting ahead of myself again. Let's move on with the story.

Anyway, the girls went to the slot machines. They weren't having much luck at first, blowing about $2,500 within about 2 hours. But soon their luck began to change. At around 10:00, Yutaka hit the jackpot on a $1 Cleopatra machine, which paid out $24,680. A half hour later, Minami hit the jackpot on a $5 Double Down Poker machine, which paid out another $30,860.

And finally at the 11:00 drawing for Keno, the ticket they were holding had all the winning numbers, and they won another $16,420. So in total, the girls earned a grand total of $71,960! Can you believe that? They must have had some _really_ good karma to be that lucky. And before you ask, no, they didn't cheat (unlike those people on the Destination America program, "Cheating Vegas") They were just really lucky that night.

"Three big wins in one night! Can you believe our luck, Minami?", Yutaka sputtered. "No I can't believe it either, Yutaka. We sure must have done something right though", Minami answered back. "With this extra payout, we can afford an even bigger honeymoon now", Yutaka realized. "We certainly can afford a huge one now", Minami concurred.

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday July 23, 2013, 12:30 am<strong>

Later that night, as they were getting ready for bed, Yutaka and Minami placed the money in a safe located in their room. "Now we can really afford to splurge for the rest of out honeymoon", Yutaka explained. "That we can, we now have over $100,000 to spend for the rest of our honeymoon", Minami responded back.

"But to tell you the truth, from now on I don't think we should gamble much anymore", Yutaka suggested. "You're right. It really isn't healthy if you do it all the time", Minami concurred. "I've heard of people who wasted their whole life savings doing that", Yutaka added. "This was just a one time thing luckily for us", Minami told her.

Within about a half hour they were undressed and in their pajamas. "What do we do tomorrow?", Yutaka asked. "Well, tomorrow we head across the border to Rhode Island, and then on Thursday we'll head to Boston", Minami told her. "What time are we supposed to leave?", Yutaka asked. "Well, I'd say we leave here no later than 11 o'clock tomorrow morning", Minami answered. Not too long after that, the 2 girls fell asleep to dream about what they would do over the rest of the honeymoon.

* * *

><p><strong>9:30 am<strong>

The next morning, Yutaka and Minami woke up from their slumber, and after getting dressed, went down and had a quick breakfast at The Grill at Two Trees. After that they got all their things packed up, which ended up taking them about an hour or so. As soon as they checked out of the MGM Grand they went down to their car which the valet so helpfully brought to the entrance of the hotel. And with that, they moved on to the Rhode Island border.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter completed on **January 28, 2013**

**Can't Fight This Feeling **- one of the best songs of the 1980's in my humble opinion. It was recorded in August 1984 by the American rock band REO Speedwagon and released on December 31, 1984 in the United Kingdom and on January 23, 1985 in the United States. It spent 3 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 (from March 9, 1985 to March 23, 1985). Seriously, you guys really should listen to it sometime.

**Foxwoods Resort Casino **- a major hotel casino located at 350 Trolley Line Boulevard in Ledyard, Connecticut. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe opened the Native American themed casino back in 1986, as a small bingo hall. It's expanded a LOT since then, now featuring a total of 439,000 square feet of gaming space.

More great news if you support same-sex marriage: Maryland, Maine, and Washington State have all passed referendums that have legalized same-sex marriage. This of course, brings the number of states that have legalized same-sex marriage to nine. And a bill to make same sex marriage legal in my home state of Rhode Island has passed in the state's House of Representatives, though it has yet to pass in the state's Senate, which is apparently in no rush to pass the bill.

As I have already mentioned, this arc will go on until either the end of Chapter 31 or the end of Chapter 32 (I still haven't quite decided yet). And again, I sincerly apologize for forcing you all to wait this long for this chapter to be uploaded. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so GOD DAMN FUCKING LONG to upload. I_ never_ expected that it would take more than 3 months to get this chapter uploaded. That is just inexcusable.

BTW, I have also started work on a Saki (or as some call it, lesbians playing mahjong) fanfic which will be quite similar to Lucky Star: After Story. I hope to have the first chapter of that fanfic up by Valentine's Day, although that is probably a long shot.

In the next chapter: The girls' honeymoon adventure will really start to get going.

* * *

><p>And finally on a more somber note, my sympathy goes out to the 20 children and 6 adults that were victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012. May they all rest in heavenly peace, and may the madman who committed this senseless act of violence rot in hell for all eternity. It really hit close to home for me, because I live less than 100 miles (not even a 2 hour drive) away from where the shooting happened.<p> 


	30. On To Rhode Island

Note: This chapter will continue the Yutaka and Minami honeymoon arc. I have now officially made a decision on the length of this arc. It will continue until the end of Chapter 32. So I'm going to put in as much as I possibly can in these last 3 chapters. You shouldn't be surprised if all 3 of them end up at over 5,000 or as many as 6,000 words each. This will be the longest chapter to date and the first one to finish up at more than 5,000 words. I hope you enjoy Chapter 30, and please don't forget to leave a review.

Another Important Note: As of the date this chapter was published, the number of states that now allow same-sex marriage has drastically increased, as between May 2, 2013 and May 14, 2013, Rhode Island (May 2nd), Delaware (May 7th), and Minnesota (May 14th) all legalized same-sex marriage. Now same-sex marriage is legal in 12 states: Connecticut, Delaware (effective July 1st), Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota (effective August 1st), New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island (effective August 1st), Vermont and Washington State, as well as the District of Columbia, and 3 Tribal Jurisdictions (the Coquille Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians). This also means that same sex marriage is now legal in more than 1 out of 5 states.

Also be aware that this chapter will likely contain more fanservice than usual, and is probably going to end up being a bit weird.

* * *

><p><strong>Tuesday July 23, 2013, 10:45 am<strong>

After spending a day and a half at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Yutaka and Minami went out to the parking lot to their car. Yutaka wore a orange T-shirt, blue shorts and black sneakers. Minami wore a pink tanktop, short green shorts and white strap on sandals. Before they went to the car, they loaded their winnings from the night before onto 2 money cards, one for each of the girls. They had decided to split their winnings evenly amongst them.

"So now it's on to Rhode Island", Yutaka announced. "Yes, we'll spend a few days there", Minami answered back. "And then it's on to Boston, right?", Yutaka wondered. "That's right, and we'll decide what's after that later", Minami told her. And with that, as soon as their things were all packed up, they got in the car to drive to the Rhode Island border.

* * *

><p><strong>11:15 am<strong>

After about a half hour drive, the girls made it to the **Westerly State Airport**. They would take the 11:30 am flight to **Block Island**, where they would spend a few hours, and then they would take the ferry back to Rhode Island the next day. After the girls loaded their things into the back of the plane they got in the passenger seats. As soon as they were buckled in, the plane taxied off the runway and took off for Block Island.

It was only took about 12 minutes (just as the advertisements say) for the plane to make it to Block Island. Once they got there, they checked into the National Hotel, which is often regarded as the best hotel on Block Island. By the time they were all checked in and all their stuff was unpacked, it was about 12:30 pm.

"Now that we're here Yutaka, what should we do now?", Minami asked. "Well Minami, I think the question is actually what _shouldn't _we do now", Yutaka answered. "You're right, this place seems to have a lot of stuff crammed into one little island", Minami concurred. "Why don't we do a little bit of shopping for souvenirs first?", Yutaka suggested. "That sounds like a good idea", Minami agreed.

"Later on we can go to the beach", Yutaka added. "Great idea, there are plenty of beaches on this little island", Minami answered back. "Before we head back to Rhode Island itself tomorrow, we should have dinner at that restaurant in the hotel", Yutaka concluded. "That sounds like a plan", Minami reiterated. So with that, the girls walked out of their hotel room and began that day's adventure.

* * *

><p><strong>2:45 pm<strong>

A couple of hours later, Yutaka and Minami arrived at the Block Island Town Beach, which is located a little more than a mile away from the National Hotel. The two had done quite a bit of shopping, and they had already dropped off their stuff in the hotel room before they came to the beach.

"Well here's the beach", Yutaka announced. "And it looks pretty crowded today", Minami noticed. It _was_ crowded, then again unless it rains the beach is always crowded during the summertime. Eventually the girls found a spot a few feet away from the water. They put a huge blanket down and put up a couple of umbrellas and sat down.

After Yutaka and Minami set up their little spot, they put on their sunscreen. They both get sunburned quite easily without sunscreen. The two girls helped each other out by putting it on each other. "If you don't mind, Minami", Yutaka asked after she was all applied, "I could put the sunscreen on your legs if you want me too". "Well thank you, Yutaka", Minami answered, "I would appreciate you doing that".

"Okay, if you could just put one of your legs near me", Yutaka advised. "All right, if that'll make it easier", Minami agreed as she lifted her left leg up slightly. As soon as it was close enough, Yutaka unfastened the sandal on Minami's foot and slipped it off. With that, she started massaging the lotion into her wife's leg. "Ooooh yes, that feels so nice", Minami sighed as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back. "Well I'm glad to hear you say that", Yutaka answered. As she continued, she thought to herself, "You know, I've never realized how attractive Minami's legs are until now".

She made sure to get every inch of her wife's leg, as well as her soles and in between the toes. "That kinds of tickles a little bit", Minami giggled. "Oh, well I'll try to be a little more careful", Yutaka replied. After the left leg was finished, it was time to do the right leg. She did the exact same thing to her wife's right leg, making sure every inch of it was covered. Once she finished, Yutaka noticed that Minami was on the verge of falling asleep.

"Minami, wake up", she called out, "I don't want you to miss out on the fun". "Oh, I'm sorry Yutaka", Minami realized, "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you". "I just don't want you to miss all the fun", Yutaka reiterated. "Okay, well thank you for waking me", Minami answered back. And with that they got up out of their area and went into the water.

The two of them had a lot of fun splashing around in the water, and building a pretty large sandcastle, gaining the attention of some of the kids and parents on the beach. They both felt like children again at least for a little while.

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm<strong>

After spending a few hours at the beach, Yutaka and Minami headed back to their hotel. "Well, let's get over our checklist", Yutaka announced. "Souvenirs, check", Minami chimed in. "Beach trip, check", Yutaka added. "So all that's left for us today is to have supper", Minami realized. "Right, and then tomorrow we take the ferry back to Rhode Island", Yutaka explained. "That sounds like a plan to me", Minami agreed. So with that they went downstairs to the Tap and Grille restaurant, which is the steakhouse restaurant located in the National Hotel.

When they got down there, they were directed to a table and given menus. To start with, the two ordered some asian marinated beef satays as an appetizer. For the entree they ordered 2 Surf and Turfs with consists of a 20 ounce lobster served with either a 6 ounce, 8 ounce, 12 ounce or 16 ounce steak. They washed that all down with a couple of martinis. At around 7:30 pm, they finished up, paid the bill and went back to their room.

* * *

><p><strong>9:30 pm<strong>

After they had packed up their stuff for the next day, Yutaka and Minami got changed into their pajamas. The former wore a pink one piece sleeveless nightgown, with the hem going down to mid thigh, and black thigh high nylon stockings. The latter wore the same thing but it was in green, and the stockings were white.

"Well, we have a long day planned for tomorrow", Yutaka announced. "That we do, so we have to get plenty of sleep", Minami told her. "The only problem is that I can't sleep", Yutaka admitted. "I think I may have a solution", Minami explained as she pulled out a metal stopwatch and a chain with a magnet on the end of it. "Oh really what is that?", Yutaka wondered. "Whenever I couldn't sleep, my mother would wave a watch or a coin on a string in front of me. I would follow it as I counted backwards from 100, and eventually I would drop off to sleep", Minami answered.

"That sounds easy enough", Yutaka replied, "I think I'd like to try it". "Okay, but are you sure you want to?", Minami asked, "Because we could try something else". "I'm okay with doing this", Yutaka reiterated. "All right, if you're sure", Minami answered back. "I'm positive", Yutaka confirmed. "All right, just give me a minute to put this together", Minami told her, "Just sit back and relax for now"

"Do you want me to let my hair down for this?", Yutaka asked. "If you want to, that's more than all right with me", Minami explained. With that, Yutaka untied the ribbons holding her pigtails in place and her hair fell down to her shoulders. Minami couldn't help but notice this. "Wow, Yutaka actually looks beautiful with her hair down", she thought to herself as she attached the stopwatch to the magnetic chain.

After about 2 minutes, Minami walked back over to Yutaka, who was now sitting in the armchair with one leg crossed over the other. "Are you ready, Yutaka?", Minami questioned. "I'm ready when you are, Minami", Yutaka confirmed, "I totally trust you with this". With that, Minami held the chain and allowed the watch to drop down until it was level with Yutaka's eyes. With that, Minami began gently waving the watch in front of her wife's face. Yutaka instantly started to follow the swinging watch with her eyes.

"Okay, now I want you to start slowly counting backwards from 100. With each number, you'll start to get more relaxed", Minami explained, "Your eyes will start to become heavy. But I want you to try to keep your eyes open for as long as you can, all right?". "I understand what you want me to do", Yutaka answered, her eyes still tracking the watch, "I trust you". "Listen only for the sound of my voice", Minami concluded, "You can start counting now".

"100. 99. 98. 97.", Yutaka slowly counted as she watched the stopwatch swing in front of her eyes. Counting down with the stopwatch, the nice shiny stopwatch.

"95. 94. 93. 92.", she continued. What little sound there was in the room began to fade out as she continued to count down. Her eyes were still locked onto the watch.

"89. 88. 87. 86.". By this time, Yutaka began feeling strange. It was like a fog was starting to envelop her mind.

"82..81..80..79..". Yutaka felt her eyelids starting to droop and she let out a yawn in between 79 and 78.

At the same time, Minami felt herself shaking a bit. "She looks so innocent as she's following my stopwatch, but yet she also looks kind of, dare I say, sexy", she thought to herself. It _was _actually pretty sexy watching Yutaka's large green eyes follow the watch's movements and her eyelids start to grow heavy and flutter.

"74..73..72..71..". Yutaka was becoming more and more drowsy, and she struggled to keep her eyes open, which were still locked onto the swinging watch.

"67..66..65..64..", Yutaka mumbled in a monotone, and she let out another yawn between 64 and 63. Still she tried to ignore her increasing drowsiness and continued to keep her focus on the watch.

"61..60..59..". The tired feeling was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

"56...55...54...", Yutaka sighed. Her tired heavy eyes were starting to blur and she struggled to keep her focus on the stopwatch.

"50...49...". At this point, Yutaka was rapidly becoming sleepier and sleepier. But yet she was still counting down and following the swinging watch with her eyes the best she could.

"46...45...". She felt her eyelids start to close down, and she felt one last big yawn come out.

"41...40...", Yutaka whispered as her eyes finally fluttered closed (although she still saw the watch swinging in her mind) and her head fell forward.

Nonetheless, Minami continued to swing the watch for about another 5 or 10 seconds until she was absolutely sure. "Yutaka, can you still hear me?", she asked. "Yes Minami...I can...still...hear...you", Yutaka mumbled in a sleepy monotone. "Good, now just relax right now and drift off to sleep", Minami advised, as she pulled off Yutaka's stockings and began massaging her legs and kissing her on the neck. "Ok...I will", Yutaka whispered drowsily, "That...feels...really...nice". And that was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep.

*Before you get that thought, no, it wasn't rape. Sorry but I HAD to say it*

* * *

><p><strong>Wednesday July 24th, 9:00 am<strong>

The next morning, Yutaka and Minami packed up their things in their suitcases and hopped on the Block Island Ferry. The former wore a red tanktop, blue jean shorts, and white strap on sandals. The latter wore a green tanktop, brown shorts, and black pumps. "Well, that was quite a night last night, wasn't it?", Minami wondered. "Yes it was a pretty amazing night last night", Yutaka agreed. "I didn't think it would work that well", Minami admitted. "Neither did I", Yutaka replied back. For a little while, they just stood there and stared out across the water.

"So what's the plan now?", Yutaka asked about 15 minutes later. "Well today and tomorrow, we'll explore the rest of the coastline", Minami answered, "Then on Friday morning we'll head up to Providence". "And then that means we'll arrive at Boston on Saturday afternoon", Yutaka explained, "After that, we'll decide what to do next". "That sounds like a plan to me", Minami reiterated. Soon after that, the ferry pulled into the Point Judith Ferry Terminal at Narragansett.

Just as they had planned, Yutaka and Minami spent most of that day exploring the South Shore. From Narragansett where they explored the villages of Galilee, Jerusalem, and Point Judith, they moved up to North Kingstown and later to South Kingstown. Later that evening, they moved further west to Charlestown, where they had a nice dinner at the historic **Wilcox Tavern**, which took place at around 6:00 pm. After that, they paid and left. That was at around 7:30 pm.

After that, they took their bicycles and rode the short distance to East Beach to watch the sunset, which was around 8:15 pm this time of year. It was a beautiful sight. "Would you look at that sunset? Isn't it a gorgeous sight?", Yutaka asked. "It _is _quite a sight", Minami agreed, "But not quite as pretty as you are". "Even though it's not quite as beautiful as you are", Yutaka replied, "It is still pretty romantic". "That I can get behind", Minami stated, "This scene really makes the mood more romantic right now".

And in the heat of the moment, the 2 girls wrapped their arms around each other and locked their lips together in a kiss. However, the moment ended up being ruined by a furious homophobic fanatic of a man who punched them both in the face and began kicking them and pulling their hair. "I fucking hate all you goddamned fags!", he shouted, "You both deserve to burn in hell for your sins!". Just then, he was painfully tackled to the ground by 3 other men and 2 women.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?", one of the men roared. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!", one of the women screamed. "Why does it matter to you if they're gay or not?", another man called out. "You seriously remind me of one of those Westboro lunatics, except for the fact that _they're_ not violent like you!", the last man yelled at him. They then dragged him away and the remaining woman called 911.

After she finished the call, she looked at Yutaka and Minami and asked them, "Are you two all right?". "I guess so", Minami answered as she stood up. "That was pretty scary though", Yutaka replied as she too got up off the ground. "That guy is way off his rocker", the woman explained to them, "But don't worry, they're going to call the police, so you two can get on with your business".

"Thank you very much", Yutaka stated. "Yes, thanks again", Minami agreed. "You're quite welcome", the woman said to the two. With that the two girls got back on their bikes and rode away as the woman waved to them. As for the man who attacked them, he ended up being charged with a hate crime and assault, and he was eventually sentenced to 5 years in prison, and his life was effectively ruined.

Just to be clear here: I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS. In fact, I HATE anybody who discriminates against them or other minority groups, ESPECIALLY those FUCKING LUNATICS at the Westboro Baptist Church. I just put that scene in to add a little more drama to the story. If I offended anyone with that scene, I _sincerely _apologize, because that wasn't my intention.

* * *

><p><strong>9:00 pm<strong>

Anyway after that scene, Yutaka and Minami decided to get the hell out of that area. They rode a little over 4 miles away to check into the historic **Shelter Harbor Inn** for the night. They booked one of the five rooms that were located in the converted carriage house. "What a nice room this is", Minami noted. "Yes it is, the owner told me this was part of a carriage house many years ago", Yutaka explained. With that, they got in their pajamas, and slipped into bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Thursday July 25th, 8:30 am<strong>

The next day, the girls woke up and after a nice breakfast at the inn's restaurant, they got dressed and ready to go explore Westerly (my proud hometown for my whole life), Watch Hill and Misquamicut. At around 9:00 am, Yutaka and Minami checked out of the Shelter Harbor Inn, and they got on their bikes. Yutaka wore a green tanktop, brown shorts, black thigh high socks and white sneakers. Minami wore a white tanktop, blue shorts, brown stockings, and red sneakers.

"Before we head out, I was wondering if we could change the schedule a bit", Yutaka answered. "Oh sure we can if you really want to", Minami told her. "I was thinking that tomorrow instead of heading right to Providence", Yutaka suggested, "We could head to Newport instead, and bump Providence up to Saturday and Boston up to Sunday". "If you really want to do that, we can make some room", Minami agreed, "I'd like to see what Newport is like myself".

So after this brief conversation, the two young lovers climbed back onto their bikes and began riding. Their first stop would be the Misquamicut State Beach on Atlantic Avenue. Later from there they would explore the village of Watch Hill, where they would spend the night in the Ocean House (which unlike most Watch Hill locations is open year-round).

It took them about 30 minutes to ride from the Shelter Harbor Inn to the Misquamicut State Beach. Once they were there they paid the fee to get in and made sure to lock their bikes up really good so no one would steal them. Once that was done, they walked onto the beach. There were thousands of people along the shore that day. Remember, all school kids are on summer break right now until August 28th.

Note: The last day of school for Westerly students is Wednesday June 26, 2013. It was supposed to be on Wednesday June 19, 2013. But after 3 days lost due to Hurricane Sandy, and another 2 lost due to the blizzard we had on Friday February 8, 2013, it was moved to the 26th.

After searching for about 10 minutes, Yutaka and Minami finally found a space about 25 feet away from the ocean. Once they found their spot, they lay their big blanket down as well as 2 lawn chairs and sat down.

"One of the people down here told me that this whole area was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy last year", Yutaka interjected. "Is that so?", Minami wondered, "What happened?". "Well they suffered a lot of damage", Yutaka told her, "For example, one home on this road got washed off its foundation and ended up in the middle of Crandall Avenue". "I've heard hurricanes can be really powerful", Minami cut in.

"Well now it doesn't look like a hurricane hit it anymore", Yutaka stated, "They did a really good job of fixing it up". "They certainly did", Minami agreed, "I can't see anything resembling hurricane damage anywhere".

Note: It is true that Misquamicut was devastated by Sandy, but they recently re-opened a few days ago for their annual SpringFest festival. This is a great example of a community pulling together. This is why I love living in Westerly.

Anyway, getting back to the story, after this conversation, the girls took over their shoes and stockings and after they put on their sunscreen, they walked into the water, until they were about knee-deep. From there, they bounced around their inflated beach ball to each other. A few times they got knocked over by the waves but they were having fun anyway. They also did more of the usual beach stuff. After about 3 or 4 hours they got back on their bikes and rode into Westerly (my hometown).

* * *

><p><strong>1:30 pm<strong>

After riding for about a half hour, Yutaka and Minami made it to Wilcox Park on Broad Street. They decided to have a picnic right in the park. After getting some lunch at the PizzaPlace Pie and Suds (they make REALLY good Neapolitan style and New York style slices) restaurant across the street, they went to the big grassy part in the middle of the park, near a model on The Runaway Bunny (from Margaret Wise Brown's beloved children's classic) and sat down to eat. They had picked up a small pepperoni pizza and two pasta dishes.

As they ate they watched everybody walking or lounging and the kids playing. It reminded them a lot of when they were kids and they used to play around in the park. But of course, this was years before they even met, started dating, or let alone got married.

"You know Minami, watching all these kids playing reminds of when I was a kid", Yutaka sighed. "I know what you mean Yutaka, it reminds me of those years as well", Minami recognized. "When we were kids, we didn't even know each other yet", Yutaka added in. "We didn't meet each other for the first time until our first year of high school", Minami interjected.

"And those years that we have known each other have been the absolute happiest years of my life", Yutaka announced. "Every year since we first met has been the most wonderful time of my life too", Minami concurred. After this little conversation, they hugged each other and kissed each other. As they were in the middle of a kiss, they heard some giggling and saw a brief flash. They turned their heads and saw two teenage girls with their cell phones, and one 25-ish year old woman with a digital camera.

Understandably, Yutaka and Minami were none too pleased with this intrusion, and they wanted an explanation. "What in the world is all this?", Yutaka demanded. "Yeah, why were you taking pictures of us?", Minami questioned. "Sorry about that", one of the girls apologized. "You two just looked so cute that we couldn't resist taking a picture", another girl confessed. "By the way, are you two married?", the woman with the camera asked.

"Yes, we are, actually", Yutaka admitted, "We just got married on Saturday in Mystic". "We came here all the way from Japan", Minami added, "We got engaged back in December". "Oh so it was a Christmas proposal?", the first girl asked excitedly. "Kind of", Minami told her, "Actually, I popped the question to Yutaka a few days before Christmas". "The day Minami proposed to me was actually my 21st birthday", Yutaka interjected, "And it was one of the best days of my life"

"A birthday proposal! Awww, how sweet!", the second girl exclaimed, squeeing a bit. "You know if you had waited until next Thursday, you could have gotten married right here in Rhode Island", the older woman explained to them, "The same-sex marriage bill was signed by the governor back in May and takes effect next week on August 1st".

"By the way, my name's Heather Johnson", the first girl introduced, "I'm 16 and about to become a junior at Westerly High School". "My name is Judith Thompson", the second girl called out, "I'm 14 and about to become a freshman at Westerly High School". "And I'm Rachel Anderson", the older woman said, "I'm their babysitter for the day".

Note: I am a proud graduate of Westerly High School Class of 2011.

"My name is Yutaka Kobayakawa", Yutaka answered, "I came here from Yokohama, Kanagawa". "My name is Minami Iwasaki", Minami responded, "I came here from Yokohama as well". "You know, I'd really like to go to Japan someday", Heather contemplated, "I've heard it's a beautiful country". "Personally, I'd like to see how they make anime", Judith interjected, "I watch a lot of it". "Yes, I know you do", Rachel grumbled, "Your room is so full of anime stuff I don't know how you can stand it!".

After talking more about each other, the five women separated. Later that afternoon, after walking around and seeing the sights of Historic Downtown Westerly, Yutaka and Minami got back on their bikes and began to ride to Watch Hill to check into the Ocean House. But before they did, at the advice of the locals, they took a quick pit stop at the **Bess Eaton Coffee Shop **at the corner of High Street and Oak Street. They ordered 1 dozen of their best donuts and two large iced coffees which the staff affectionately calls "The Tank".

* * *

><p><strong>6:00 pm<strong>

At around 6 o'clock, Yutaka and Minami made it to Watch Hill. After checking into the beautiful (and massive) Ocean House hotel, they had a nice dinner at one of the Ocean House's restaurants, to be exact The Bistro. When they finished the meal and paid the bill, they walked outside to the back to watch the sunset. Summer sunsets are always the best to look at. Eventually they looked into each other's eyes again and their gaze locked. They wrapped their arms around each other in a tender embrace and kissed each other gently.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Chapter (finally) completed on **May 15, ****2013**

**Westerly State Airport **- one of six active airports in Rhode Island. As the name implies it serves the town of Westerly (which is my hometown).

**Block Island** - an island which is part of the state of Rhode Island. The island is located about 13 miles from the south shore of Rhode Island.

**Wilcox Tavern and General Stanton Monument **- also known as the Joseph Stanton House. It was built _way_ back in 1739 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

**Shelter Harbor Inn **- built on farmland dating back to the early 1800's, this former farmhouse was transformed into a inn back in 1911. It is located at 10 Wagner Road, just off of Post Road (aka US Route #1)

**Bess Eaton Coffee Shop **- a former chain of coffee shops that closed in 2004. However in Spring 2011, by some miracle, 3 stores reopened, including the original location at High and Oak Streets in Westerly. There are 2 stores in the Westerly-Pawcatuck area, one in Wakefield, a seasonal location in Narragansett, and one in Groton. If you come across any of them, I suggest you get a coffee and some donuts from there (they are absolutely delicious, especially the double chocolate donut), and don't walk to it, RUN!

Again I sincerely apologize for making all you loyal fans of this story wait for so long, and the fact that it's been taking me so long to upload the chapters. I _never_ expected this arc to drag out for so long and to only complete 5 chapters in 9 months. To me that is _absolutely and completely unacceptable_. You see so much shit has been going on recently, not to mention I recently extended my hours at my job. But I'll try to get the last 2 chapters of this arc finished _as soon as I possibly can_ so we can _FINALLY_ get to the next arcs. And not to mention continue on with my newest fanfic, Saki: After Story (the first chapter was uploaded on February 14th). Hopefully I'll have this arc done by no later than September 30th, but that's probably a long shot.

Here's what's still in store for this fanfic: Chapters 33 through 37 will include the second Konata and Kagami family arc, which will include the birth of their second daughter and the days before and after. Chapters 38 and 39 will be the second supporting character arc (it will involve Ayaka and Nanami this time since I already gave Mariko and Chiyoko their arc). Chapters 40 through 42 will involve Tsukasa and Miyuki considering adopting a child.

Heather and Judith are named after Heather O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988) and Judith Barsi (June 6, 1978 - July 25, 1988) respectively. They were two popular child actresses from the 1980's who both died FAR too early. Heather was most famous for playing the role of Carol Anne in the three Poltergeist films; she was only 12 years old when she passed away from cardiopulmonary arrest and septic shock caused by an misdiagnosed defect in her small intestine, which led to an acute bowel obstruction. Judith was most famous for playing the role of Ducky in the original Land Before Time movie as well as Anne-Marie from All Dogs Go To Heaven; she was just 10 years old when she and her mother were both murdered by _her own father._ That just absolutely enrages me to my core.

* * *

><p>Finally, on a more somber note, my thoughts and prayers go out to the 3 people who lost their lives and the 282 people injured in the Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, 2013 (Thank god they caught the madman who did this) and also to the at least 15 people killed and the more than 160 people injured in the West Fertilizer Company explosion in West, Texas on April 17, 2013.<p> 


End file.
